This Side of Paradise
by thespectralbones
Summary: Sequel to The Magic We Share (/s/13101655/1/The-Magic-We-Share). Diana Cavendish and Akko Kagari have resumed life as normal at Luna Nova with some changes-some good, while others not so much. Nightmares and memories of their fight with the Order of Aurelion begin to plague Akko's daily life, testing both her relationship and her resolve.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Blank, lifeless eyes stared back into her own.

She could feel the sharp edge of the sword against the skin of her neck and the trickle of warm blood crawling down the side of her cheek, but the idea of an impending strike that would end her life seemed inconsequential. All she could think about was the blood leaking slowly from the gaping wound, the muscle and sinew that once held flesh together now nothing more than a tangled vine of screaming red. Bile rose to the back of her throat, her stomach churned, her skin ached and twitched as her muscles trembled uncontrollably.

Akko's eyes flew open.

With a gasp, she lurched upright in bed, letting the covers tumble down her torso to gather in a pile at her waist. Her t-shirt clung to her body, damp with sweat, arms coated in a sheen of tiny droplets that permeated her burning skin in what felt like a blanket of ice. She could feel herself still shivering, a low ache coursing down her spine as she willed herself to stop. Her breath came in quick gasps heart hammering ruthlessly against her ribcage. She brought one hand to her breast, clawing at the fabric of her t-shirt as she let out a low groan.

"Akko?"

The feeling of the bed twisting beneath Diana made her shoot up with a sharp intake of breath. Akko was bent over, grabbing at her chest and blowing heavily through her nostrils. Diana could feel her shaking, could feel the other girl's muscles tense with each shuddering breath she took. She closed her hands on the other girl's biceps, not surprised to find her skin moist with sweat.

"Akko, is it happening again?"

Akko could only offer a weak nod. She squeezed her eyes shut hard at Diana's touch, trying to force her heart rate to slow with each heavy, focused breath. "Yes," she gasped, tilting her chin toward the ceiling and swallowing hard.

Diana pulled her in, fingers threading through her damp brown hair. She could feel Akko nuzzling her cheek into her neck, the heat of each shaky breath tickling her bare skin. "It's alright," she murmured, her own body tensing against Akko's quivering muscles.

Akko focused on Diana, on the quiet fingers that were combing gently through her hair, on the hand that gripped into her shoulder blade to hold her in a tight embrace. The shivering slowly fell into the relief of stillness, and, with it, the painful rhythm of her pounding heart steadying once more. "I'm sorry," she whispered after quite some time, finally pulling away from Diana to look at the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock on the nearby desk. It was barely past midnight.

"That's the third time this month," Diana replied with a frown, pushing the other girl to arm's length and scanning her face. She leaned in and planted a gentle kiss to the side of her nose. "Maybe you should pay another visit to Madam Wong."

It was true, it had been the third time she'd awoken with a panic attack from nightmares… the third time with _Diana_ , who she only got to spend the weekends with. Since returning to Luna Nova, she'd lost count of the amount of times she'd woken up with her heart racing, tangled in covers damp with sweat. She'd even woken to Lotte shaking her awake a few times to tell her she'd been screaming in her sleep.

Her nightmares were nearly always the same scene: the lifeless man with blood pooling from the deep slash through his neck. Sometimes the entire sanctum of the Cavendish ritual site took shape around her. Cold, damp, foreboding. Other times, she felt like she was floating in a void, unable to move a single muscle, unable to look away as her eyes simply locked on the gore in front of her.

On other nights, she was running for her life, fleeing an onslaught of bullets that rained around her in a thunderous roar and sometimes even brought her to the ground in a spray of bright red blood. She would wake nearly instantly to phantom pain biting in the same place she'd been struck in her dream.

Nights had grown rather sleepless. She'd found herself struggling to stay awake in class, at meals, even while spending time with her friends, and was hard pressed to maintain enough energy just to make it through the day.

At Lotte's insistence, she had finally given in and paid a visit to Madam Wong—only to find that all that could be done, without the intervention of a memory specialist ("There are only a handful in the world," Madam Wong had told her), were a couple of different potions and time itself.

Akko shook her head, parting her lips as she released a shuddering breath. "She said she can't do anything, remember?" she said, finally letting her hand fall from the stretched fabric of her shirt. "And, besides, chances of extracting small pieces of a memory are slim without… losing the whole thing," she added, waving her fingers toward her head for emphasis. She lifted her red eyes to meet Diana's concerned blue. "I'm not risking that. Those memories are too important to me."

"I can remember for us," Diana argued, bringing a hand up to run the back of her knuckles down the side of Akko's temple. "You can't keep going through this."

"No," Akko stated firmly, hoping her tone got the point across that it was the end of the subject. She hooked her fingers at the bottom of her damp t-shirt and pulled it over her head, balling it up and tossing it into the dark to land somewhere near the bookshelf.

Diana couldn't help but let her eyes run over Akko's body. It had been a week and, though tired and so very ready to go back to sleep, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. "Where's your dream suppressant?" she asked, forcing her gaze back up to the other girl's face.

"Desk," Akko muttered, reaching over Diana so she could sift through the multiple vials that she'd tossed unceremoniously next to Diana's diary. "Blue one—looks kind of like the awakening serum though—I've got it." She wrapped her hand around the small glass bottle and pulled herself back across Diana's body—but not before she felt the other girl's thumb drag against her nipple. She inhaled sharply and rocked back onto her knees.

" _Babe_ ," she groaned, scowling at the smirk on the other girl's face as she uncapped the bottle and measured her dosage into the cap. "I'm on my _period_. I told you that."

"You know I don't mind." Diana trailed her fingers down Akko's muscular side, letting out a heavy sigh as a familiar pang twisted slowly through her lower abdomen.

" _I_ mind," Akko mumbled. She tilted her head back and threw the serum down her throat, eyebrows twitching at the unexpected taste. Lifting the vial into the moonlight, she read the tiny script at the bottom and let out a loud groan. "Aw, man…"

Diana hummed, letting her arms fall back to the sheets as Akko leaned over her once more to set the potion back on the desk. But, this time, the other girl didn't retreat back to her side of the bed. Instead, Diana felt fingernails raking up her sides and sucked in air as Akko's hands pushed beneath her shirt, fingers tracing over the ridges of her ribs.

"Akko—what—" Soft, wet lips press against her abdomen, one hand retreating lower while fingers danced at the waistband of her shorts. "What are you doing? This isn't—" She tilted her head back against the pillow, a moan slipping from the back of her throat as Akko's teeth scraped against the tip of her hipbone. "—isn't fair."

"You can just—get me back—next week," Akko whispered between kisses, relishing in the sensation of Diana's rhythmic gasping, her abdominal muscles pulsing and rolling as Akko trailed lower. She paused, breath tickling against where the other girl wanted her the most, as she raised crimson eyes to meet the familiar blue hues that were clouded with lust.

"Besides," Akko mumbled, grinning while she dipped down and let her lower lip brush against the other girl to receive a satisfactory groan, "I accidentally took the awakening serum."

* * *

"Akko, wake up!"

A hard elbow jammed into her ribs and she snorted awake, lifting her head and swiping a string of drool from the corner of her mouth. She looked down at her notes to see that her already messy handwriting had gotten steadily worse until it squiggled off into the puddle where her face had . "Eh?" She blinked up at the Finnish witch who was glowering at her from behind thick glasses.

"You fell asleep _again_ ," Lotte whispered in a scold, quickly turning her attention back to the front of the class, where Lukic was cackling and dipping a dried rabbit spine into a simmering brew. "Are you not taking your potions?"

"I _am_ ," Akko shot back, picking her pencil up and leveling bloodshot eyes to the front of the classroom. She could already feel her chin starting to droop again and only straightened back up when she heard Diana hiss from behind her, "Akko, don't you _dare_!"

"She's not taking them," Sucy stated matter-of-factly from Akko's other side, inhaling deeply as what smelled like burning hair wafted over them.

Akko crinkled her nose and fanned the air in front of her, eyes starting to water against the stench. "Have too," she grumbled.

"Have not."

" _Fine_ ," Akko huffed. "The awakening serum makes my heart race, though! It feels weird and I don't like it."

"And the anxiety blocker?"

Akko crossed her arms over her chest. "It makes me feel like a zombie."

"What about the dream suppressant?" Lotte asked, leaning into her notes as she jotted down the correct number of salmon scales to add to the Deathbringer Potion. Which, by the way, was a total misnomer, because it didn't actually cause death. It just made someone's skin shimmer if they were within a month of their demise. A useful tool for determining hospice care, Diana had told her.

Akko rested her temple in her palm. "It makes me oversleep."

"You _already_ oversleep," Sucy scoffed.

"Well, I oversleep more!"

Akko had unknowingly raised her voice in the argument. Lukic looked up from stirring, fist full of salmon scales frozen over the now rapidly bubbling liquid. Akko realized, with a gag, that the smell of burning was coming from the Professor. Some of her hair had fallen into the potion and was billowing smoke. "Miss Kagari, how would you like to try this potion? Maybe you'll glow, wouldn't that be a sight to see?" Her voice screeched into a wicked laugh.

"Uh… no, thank you," Akko replied, eyebrows scrunching together as she stared down at her Professor. "I'd rather not."

Lukic _'s_ loud chuckle ground to a halt. Her voice hollowed. "Fine. Then you and your two friends can enjoy scrubbing my cauldrons this weekend."

Akko let out a loud groan. The sound of a throat clearing behind her made her turn to find Diana glaring down at her from where she sat, arms folded across her chest. Crap! Akko squeezed her eyes shut. She had arranged to take Diana to Blytonbury on Saturday afternoon for a date. It was the second weekend she'd ruined their plans with detention. The last time, she'd fallen asleep in Pisces class, which wouldn't have been _that_ bad, except when Amanda scared her awake by throwing a ball of paper at her head, she'd panicked and thrown her book. Which had, unfortunately, knocked over and shattered an entire jar of the Professor's favorite seaweed flakes. Pisces had nearly jumped out of her bowl she'd been blubbing so angrily.

 _I'm sorry_ , Akko mouthed at Diana, wincing at the eye-roll she received from the other girl and sheepishly turning her head back to the front. She buried her face in her hands and let out a deep sigh.

"She's going to break up with me for _sure_ ," Akko moaned into her palms.

"No she's not," Lotte whispered through the corner of her mouth. "She loves you too much, Akko! Just make it up to her later."

Sucy sneered, squinting her eyes at the very detailed mushroom she was sketching around her notes. "It's not like she has high expectations, anyway."

Akko groaned again. "That makes it even worse!"

A glare from Lukic made the Red Team shut their mouths for fear of an additional weekend being taken. Akko could almost _feel_ the heat from Diana's stare on the back of her head. She knew that she was absolutely, without a doubt, in the doghouse.

She'd thought that being in a relationship—especially with the smartest girl at Luna Nova—would make her life easier. She thought her studies might improve, that she might be able to find classes more interesting, that Diana might even take it easy on her when she caught Akko doing something she shouldn't be doing. Instead, Diana had become even _more_ stern than before, expecting her to behave in a certain way that mirrored the expectations of dating someone of prestige.

No, Akko had severely misjudged what life would be like while dating Diana Cavendish. Yet, even though she could already hear the upcoming lecture with surprising clarity (" _Akko, you have got to be more serious about your studies_!"), Akko knew for certain that she didn't want a single thing to change.

Well, except for maybe not getting in trouble so much.

* * *

"Akko, you have got to be more serious about your studies if you want to be a successful witch," Diana was scolding from across the cafeteria table during dinner as she delicately shuffled her roasted potatoes across her plate. "It's quite absurd that you continue to find yourself in these situations."

Akko shoveled a potato into her mouth, hunching her shoulders in defeat as she stared at her own wavering reflection in her full glass of water. "I know, I know," she mumbled, swallowing.

"And, did I hear that you aren't taking your potions?" Diana whispered loudly, leaning forward. One white-blonde eyebrow raised in accusation as she leveled an icy blue gaze at the Japanese witch.

Akko dropped her fork and groaned, grabbing her glass of water and taking a long sip. "Can we not talk about this right here?" She glanced over at the Green Team and the rest of the Blue Team, who had no idea about Akko's current affliction. She preferred it stay that way. The less people worrying about her, the better.

"You're right. I apologize," Diana replied, setting her silverware down and leaning back in her chair. "Though, so you know, we will be discussing this later."

"What potions?" Amanda piped up from where she sat close to Hannah, the smaller redhead tucked against her in a close embrace. "Discuss what?"

"I hardly believe that's any of your business," Diana retorted, directing her attention (much to Akko's relief) to the wily American. "And, for the love of the Nine, can you two please cease your obnoxious displays of affection while in public?"

Amanda hummed, a slow smirk etching across her face as she glanced beneath the table, where Diana was gently running the toe of her shoe against Akko's calf. "You're one to talk, Cavendish," she said with a snicker, earning a quick retreat of the leg and a brilliant red blush from the blonde.

The exchange, at least, had distracted the nosy witch from the topic of Akko, who shoved more potatoes into her mouth and let her thoughts wander as the conversation moved on. In an instant, her mind had taken her once more to the snow-covered hill of the Cavendish Estate, to Diana's bundled body pressed close to hers. To the blue eyes that had melted beneath Akko's confession, to those soft, pale lips that had spoken the words she thought she'd never hear.

"I am ridiculously in love with you."

Akko squeezed her eyes shut as she let the familiar warmth pulse beneath her skin. She couldn't remember a happier day in her life. The desperate clash of their lips, Diana's breath hot against her cheek, the soft blonde hair that melted through her fingers as Akko held her close.

She could feel the cold biting into her skin beneath her clothes, hear the gentle rustling of the leaves beneath the snow, the rolling snort of Thistle as she dozed nearby. They'd fallen back in the snow, Akko's head resting comfortably on Diana's shoulder as the latter's fingers danced lazily through her hair. She had never been more at ease, more content, more filled with uninhibited love than she was in that moment.

But the air was thick with a metallic taste that bit into the back of her tongue. Diana's fingers ceased movement against her and instead felt just as cold and heavy as the snow surrounding them. Akko could feel something warm and damp pooling against the side of her face.

Akko lifted her head and choked on a cry. Bright red blood was soaking into the snow, dripping from her own face and hair. Diana's clouded blue eyes were staring, unblinking, into her own.

The blood wept, thick and endless, from the gaping wound in her neck, gushing rhythmically with the still weak pulse of a slashed artery. Akko could feel her muscles begin to shake, the cold sweat slowly drenching her skin beneath her thick coat, her heart beating faster with each unbearable moment.

A gut-wrenching scream scared Akko awake so hard that she'd nearly flipped her chair over backwards. Her knee struck the bottom of the table so hard that everyone's plate jumped into the air and smashed back down in a loud clatter.

"Akko, are you alright?" she heard Lotte say.

"What was _that_?" Akko yelled, realizing she was barely in her own chair and being held up by Constanze. The German witch's dark eyebrows stitched together, eyes large with confusion as she slowly eased Akko back into her chair.

Red eyes shifted around her to find that the entire cafeteria had turned to stare at her. Every single student, teacher, even the goblins had frozen mid-service at the counter. The only sound came from the rain that had just started to drum against the massive windows gazing out onto the vestibule.

Akko groaned and rubbed at her aching knee, glancing around at her friends. Amanda had stopped, mid-chew, to stare at her. Sucy's eyebrow was raised. Jasminka had lowered the tart she'd been munching on. Barbara just looked... _scared_.

"Akko."

She turned her gaze to Diana to find wide blue eyes, very much full of life, staring back into her own. The skin of the other girl's pale neck was completely untouched. The weight of the Cavendish's expression made her shrink into the back of her chair.

Diana lifted one hand to pinch the bridge of her nose between her fingers, squeezing her eyes shut hard.

"Akko, that was you."

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Hi. I didn't expect to be back this soon, especially with a sequel, but I am.

I marked this with "depictions of graphic violence", though I would like to advise you that this chapter will likely be the only one deserving such a warning. There will be little to no violence from this point forward. Far less so than it's prequel.

However, I would like you to know that this fic will be quite a bit more mature than the former as there will be depictions of mental illness.

But, yes, there will be fluff.

And yes, the dang fic is named after the Hayley Kiyoko song. I was going to name it something else, but then I found this one fitting, given the plot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Blood.

Dead eyes.

Lifeless body.

The rattle of a breath still trying to—

Madam Wong clapped her hands together in front of Akko's face. She jumped back in surprise, blinking a few times before bringing her eyes up to the nurse who was sitting only a foot in front of her. She'd drawn up two chairs face-to-face for a specific exercise she had wanted to try.

"Were you able to conjure a mental image of the trauma this time?"

Akko pursed her lips, letting her body sag with a deep exhale as she folded her arms across her body. "I mean, kind of? I can't really picture it. Feels more like fragmented thoughts."

Madam Wong frowned, lifting her notebook from her lap and jotting something down that Akko tried to sneak a look at but, good Nine, could that woman even read her own handwriting? And Akko thought _hers_ was bad.

"And how did you feel?" Madam Wong asked, lifting her pen to hover over the yellow notepad as she looked back to Akko.

"Um..." Akko could feel her fingers twisting over each other, picking at the jagged nails that she'd already chewed to the skin. She scrunched her eyebrows together and focused, through glossed red eyes, on the long paragraph that Madam Wong had scribbled.

Madam Wong's pen began moving once more as she wrote. "You can be honest, Miss Kagari."

"Alright," Akko replied. She shrugged. "I didn't feel anything."

The pen froze once more, momentarily, before scrawling in thick letters that Akko could actually read: _AVOIDANCE_. The nurse underlined the word twice.

"Let's try one more time," Madam Wong said, not even bothering to hide the defeat that laced her voice as she set the notebook aside, taking in how Akko was slumped in her chair and kept her arms firmly crossed over her chest. "Remember, focus on me while you bring forward the memory."

Akko offered a small nod and watched as the nurse began snapping her fingers from side to side, right to left, over and over in a rhythmic pattern. Her tired eyes followed the movement of the hand as she tried to force the picture of the dead man to her mind.

She remembered blood on the ground, but she couldn't _see_ it. She couldn't _smell_ it. All the sensations that came to her in flashbacks were unreachable on command.

Her breathing slowed as she blinked back and forth. She felt her memory blanking, the single forced image of a slashed throat drifting away. Instead, she thought about how exhausted she was, about the clench of her jaw that was giving her a little bit of a headache.

Madam Wong's hands clapped together once more.

"And now?" she asked, retrieving her notebook from where she'd set it on her desk and gazing hopefully into Akko's eyes. "Anything?"

Akko shook her head again, digging her middle finger into her palm to leave a small crescent as her nail pressed into the skin. "No. I'm sorry. It's not working."

The nurse sighed, jotting down a few more illegible words. "And your emotions?"

"Nothing," Akko admitted. Though, she hadn't felt much in the way of emotions in _days_ —Lotte had taken to watching her swallow her anxiety blocker every morning (at Diana's request), and instead of the usual jolt of energy she felt at seeing her friends or something she enjoyed, she simply felt… flat. Often, she found herself zoning in class or during conversations, not even thinking about anything in particular. Though, her friends seemed to think otherwise.

"What's going on, Akko?" Lotte had asked one morning at breakfast when Akko had finally snapped out of a daze. She'd been staring at her half-eaten hot cakes for so long that even Amanda was starting to take notice.

"Nani?" Akko had replied, poking her fork into the soft pastry and pondering how squishy it was. "Nani ka iimashita ka?"

Lotte certainly didn't speak Akko's language, but she'd heard one word enough to kind of know what the other girl was saying. "You look pretty thoughtful. Are you okay?"

Akko hummed, setting her fork down and forcing a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said—which wasn't a lie, she kind of didn't feel anything—before adding, "Just zoned out a little bit."

Diana had frowned beside her and let her hand brush over the other girl's knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. More than anyone, she had noticed the difference in Akko's personality when she took her potions. It seemed like she wasn't fully there, like she wasn't fully _anywhere_. She couldn't focus on anything for long, couldn't hold an engaging conversation. Even her kiss felt different, like there wasn't much behind it at all. She knew Akko didn't want to drink her potions and her current behavior was exactly that reason, but, at the same time, she couldn't bear to see the inevitable breakdowns. She couldn't decide which was more selfish of her: watching Akko be someone she wasn't so neither of them had to deal with the fallout, or enjoying the familiarity of Akko's personality when she knew that, on the inside, the other girl was fighting a silent battle.

It was a double-edged sword.

"Well," Madam Wong started, leaning back in her chair, "When you do experience flashbacks, how do you feel _then_?"

Akko narrowed her eyes in thought, flicking her fingernail against her palm. "Freaked out," she replied. "Anxious. Scared. It's really… hard to describe."

"And if you don't take your potion, how often is this happening?"

Akko mulled the new question as she stared at the nameplate on Madam Wong's desk. _FENG WONG_ , MMN. "A couple times a day. Maybe sometimes more. It depends."

"And have you identified a trigger?"

The Japanese witch blinked, bringing her hand to her mouth as her teeth rolled over the nub of her thumbnail. A trigger? No, it just kind of seemed to happen at random. More often when she was alone in her thoughts, or listening to music, or reading... but it wasn't as though she heard a word or saw something and freaked out. "No," Akko answered. "I don't think so."

Madam Wong nodded, pressing her pen back to the notepad and tensing her jaw before asking the next question. "And how long has this been going on?"

"Since I got back from the holiday. Uh, a couple months, I guess."

Frowning once more, Madam Wong glanced at the copy of _DSM-5_ that she'd laid out on her desk. She wasn't happy with resorting to civilian methods of diagnosis and treatment, but so long as Akko refused to see a memory specialist, there was no better option. She didn't need the book to know what the student was experiencing, though. She'd seen it before and was still treating Molly McIntyre, who, in her opinion, was notably worse off—but the symptoms were the same. She flipped the page of her notes to find the first time she'd spoken to Atsuko Kagari.

 _1/17: Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder_

It was March.

"Miss Kagari, I don't want to alarm you, but—" Madam Wong set her pen down and met Akko's questioning gaze, taking a deep breath and trying to look as reassuring as possible. "But with the time that has lapsed since your first symptoms, you meet the criteria for your conditions to medically classify you as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Akko blinked. Wasn't that something war veterans got? She was only 17. "I don't think that's right," she replied, eyebrows stitching together in confusion. "It's just nightmares and stuff. I think it'll be fine once I stop thinking about it…"

She trailed off as Madam Wong pulled the book from her desk and flipped the massive tome open to the page she had bookmarked. She turned it in her lap, handing it to Akko, who took it delicately and glanced down at the information she was being given.

"Here is your answer sheet from your first visit," Madam Wong said, sifting through Akko's folder until she found the sheet of paper she was looking for. She handed it to Akko. "And here is the one that you filled out today." She grabbed the fresh questionnaire off her desk and held it out.

Akko had no idea what those sheets were. She just figured it was so Madam Wong knew exactly which potions to brew for her. It was just a list of things that were going on with a rating system of 1-5, 5 being the worst. Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, anxiety, inability to sleep—that was all normal stuff that everybody had sometimes.

But Akko had answered a _lot_ of higher numbers. On both sheets.

She looked back to the page of the book, at the tiny words that listed criteria defining the disorder, and suddenly felt nauseous. Her answers on both questionnaires matched nearly every symptom.

"I want you to know that this diagnosis does not have permanence in all cases." Madam Wong was letting her words fall on the pounding ears of the girl before her. "You can overcome everything with time and treatment. Or, if you would prefer to see a memory specialist… I have located a witch in Scotland who is skilled in trauma elimination."

Akko looked up, closing the book in her lap and holding it back to the nurse. One leg was jigging beneath her fidgeting hands as she bounced her toes. "But she can't just take out the one thing?" Akko asked, more a statement than a question.

"Not likely." Madam Wong shook her head, taking the book and papers back and returning them to her desk as she pushed her chair back and stood. "The risk for that procedure is much too high. Most specialists will refuse to even attempt, and, given your age, I doubt it would even be considered in your case. The whole memory would have to go. And there is the risk of losing other memories within the same timeframe."

"Then my answer will stay no," Akko said, following the nurse's lead and rising. She bit her lip and inhaled deeply, squeezing her eyes shut as one fist clenched at her side. "I can't lose those memories."

"Then, Miss Kagari—" Madam Wong lifted her glasses from her desk and slid them back over her nose, glancing at the calendar that hung on the nearby wall. "—I will see you next week."

As Akko turned and pushed her way through the door that led from Madam Wong's private wing, she felt the cold, icy grip of dread wrapping itself around her insides. She felt disappointed in herself. Why was it she couldn't repress a memory? How come she couldn't just _not_ think about it? There were plenty of things that she didn't think about every day that completely sucked: her really dreadful grades, that time the Cockatrice almost killed her, finding out about Chariot taking her magic. This thing hadn't even happened to her. She was fine. It was just something she _saw_.

But she couldn't get it out of her mind.

Was she broken?

"Akko." Diana snapped her Runes textbook shut and rose from where she'd been studying in the lobby of the clinic. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Akko replied, though the look in her eyes told Diana that it was everything but. "You didn't have to wait."

"I wanted to." She planted a chaste kiss on Akko's cheek and quickly retreated with a blush, shoving her book into her heavy satchel and tossing it over her shoulder. She frowned at Akko's lack of reaction, watching the shadows pass over the other girl's face as she turned away. "Akko, what's wrong?"

Akko shook her head, bringing dull eyes to meet Diana's. "Would you mind if I just… skipped out on the studying tonight? I'm really not feeling well."

"Oh." They'd been planning on studying together the entire week. It was already hard enough to get alone time outside of the weekend—inviting Akko to the library to spend time with her while she studied for a Runes exam had been something Diana was looking forward to. "I suppose that's alright. I'll—"

But Akko was already halfway through the door to the clinic.

"—see you."

Diana could sense Madam Wong shuffling around behind her. She turned her head, imploring gaze meeting the nurse's eyes, though she knew the woman wouldn't be able to tell her what happened. Behavioral medicine was a private matter and she had no privilege to know what had occurred.

"Miss Cavendish," Madam Wong acknowledged with a small nod.

Diana could feel a frown tugging hard at the corners of her lips. With a heavy sigh, she rolled her shoulder beneath the weight of her books and trailed in Akko's wake, bypassing the ornate doors of the library and instead heading straight to her room.

She could hardly say she hadn't grown used to the solitude. Even when Akko was around, it wasn't the same girl that she'd come to know and love. She wanted that girl back, plain and simple.

Waving a small greeting to Hannah and Barbara, she tossed her satchel onto her bed and, instead of retreating to her desk to study, began sifting through the large bookshelf that divided their room. Her finger traced over the thick spines of the many books until she found the exact one she was looking for, a book that she hoped held an answer.

 _Curses, Hexes, and Miracle Magic: A History_

Runes was going to have to wait. For once, Diana had decided she had something much more important to do than study.

* * *

"Akko, I don't think it's that bad," Lotte said, glancing away from her orb and conversation with GreatBen8103. "A lot of people have that. It might seem terrible right now, but I'm sure it's something that you can get through. You can do anything you put your mind to!"

Akko groaned, twisting her body and letting herself fall against her bed, face smashing into her pillow. "Easy for you to say, Lotte. It's not you."

"Well, that's true, Akko, but I really do think it's going to be alright."

Sucy glanced up from watering her new crop of mushrooms. "What did Diana say?"

Akko squeezed her eyes shut and played with the frayed corner of her Shiny Chariot comforter. "I—I haven't told her."

Lotte's head popped over the side of the bunk, large blue eyes blinking at her roommate in disbelief. "What do you mean you haven't told her? She's your girlfriend!"

"She's not my—"

"She's your girlfriend," Sucy stated, rolling her eyes. They'd had this conversation multiple times, always with the same argument ("She's not my girlfriend, we never talked about that label!" Akko would whine, and Sucy would retort with, "Doesn't matter. She's your girlfriend, you idiot.") "And you really need to tell her. Her family comes from a medical background, she might be able to find a case where magic helped."

"How come _she's_ not going through this?" Akko moaned, pushing herself back upright. "Not that I want her to—of course I don't—but it makes me feel so _weak._ She saw the same things I did and she's absolutely fine! She's just regular Diana."

Sucy rolled her shoulders in a shrug and went back to her mushrooms, poking at each one individually as if performing an assessment. "Still pretty dumb not to tell her," she muttered.

"For once, I agree with Sucy," Lotte chirped, carefully sliding down from the top bunk to level a motherly glare at Akko. Her short ginger hair was pointing in every direction. "You've got to tell her. And did you take your dream suppressant?" She pointed to the potions sitting on the edge of Sucy's desk.

"Yes," Akko lied.

"She's lying," Sucy mumbled.

" _Akko_."

Akko groaned, swinging her legs from her bed and taking one large step across the room to grab the blue potion and collapse back on her mattress. "I _hate_ it," she groaned, popping off the cap and pouring her dose—but skimping it just enough so that her roommates couldn't see. She tossed it back, nose wrinkling as the foul taste hit the back of her tongue, and screwed it shut.

"I don't," Sucy said, shoving her mushrooms back under her bed and turning out her table lamp before climbing under the covers. "I can actually get sleep when you aren't over there screaming." She pulled her ear plugs out from under her pillow and shoved them in.

"Not like you can hear anything with those," Lotte grumbled. "I'm the one that has to deal with it."

"Hey! I'm not asleep yet. I can still _hear_ you," Akko replied. She slid under her covers and let her head hit the pillow just as Lotte flicked off the overhead light and climbed back into her own bunk.

She could already feel the tingle in the tip of her fingers that told her she would soon be asleep, but she fought it with wide eyes as she stared into the darkness. Her roommates were right. She did have to tell Diana, but what if the other girl didn't like her anymore? What if she thought Akko was weak, or a burden, or just not even worth it? She was a Cavendish, after all. She could have _anyone_.

The potions could make the nightmares stop, most of the time. They could keep the flashbacks at bay. They could help with the cold sweats and the shaking.

But they couldn't quell her fear of losing Diana.

* * *

Diana's fingers combed gently through Akko's soft brown hair as she held her close, sighing beneath the weight of the other girl's head on her chest as she let herself process everything. She had figured as much—after all, she wasn't dense, and her medical intuition gave her a rather keen sense of symptoms and causes. What bothered her was that Akko waited to tell her.

"I'm sorry," Akko mumbled into her neck. Diana could feel the girl's eyelashes tickling her skin as Akko shut her eyes. "I was scared."

"I understand," Diana replied, even though she didn't. Not really. She would have told Akko immediately. Keeping secrets—even for just a few days—from the most important person in her life just didn't seem right. But Akko was a different person, with quite a different personality, so she shouldn't have expected the same treatment. Instead, she'd hardly seen Akko all week, and as such had been an absolute nervous wreck. "We'll get through this," she added.

She glanced at the textbook that lie forgotten at her side, threading her fingers through Akko's and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. When she didn't get one back, she sat up a little bit and turned to look into the other girl's face.

"What's on your mind, honey?"

"Nothing," Akko replied, finally tightening her grip on Diana's hand and squeezing the fabric of her t-shirt with the other. "Absolutely nothing. I mean it. And that's the problem. I'm not feeling anything. I hate it. I hate this stupid potion. I hate everything about this. Everything is just so gray." She sat up, still clutching Diana's hand as she turned crimson eyes which, as Diana had seen so much lately, lacked their usual sparkle. "I don't feel like myself at all."

 _You aren't yourself_ , Diana wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. Instead, she traced the outline of Akko's jawbone and forced a small smile. "You'll get used to the potion."

Akko shook her head. "No, I won't. I've been taking it for weeks now and I feel the same. Can I just… stop taking it? Please?"

"I don't think that's wise," Diana replied. She pinched a thick strand of Akko's hair between her index and middle finger and let it slide against her skin. "I think you should keep taking it for now." She leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the corner of Akko's lips before pulling her back down against the pillow.

"I want you to know," Akko murmured, lips brushing against Diana's cheek, "That I wouldn't be taking it if it wasn't for you."

"I know." And she did know. Akko was doing what she had to. And, even though the situation was far from ideal, she knew that it wouldn't stay like this forever. The simple effort of just _trying_ was plenty for Diana. Akko would either get better… or she wouldn't. "I love you, Akko."

"I love you, too," Akko whispered.

Akko's breath tickling against her skin made her sigh, one hand running down the side of the other girl's body. Part of Diana still couldn't believe that Akko felt the same way, that the girl she'd wanted for so long was curled up next to her. Sure, she wasn't _exactly_ the same Akko that Diana had fallen for, not right now. But that same girl was in there, somewhere. She'd be back.

Her fingers flicked beneath the bottom of Akko's shirt, stroking the soft skin near her hipbone before running over her thin shorts to press between her legs in a gentle tease. "How about I help you feel something?" she breathed, turning her head to exhale slowly near the other girl's ear—something she knew generally worked like a charm.

But Akko just sighed and ducked her chin. "Can we just… sleep tonight? Would that be alright?"

"Oh." Diana let her hand fall from Akko's body and retreat up into her own chest. "Sure. Of course. That's fine. I apologize."

"It's alright," Akko said quietly. "I'm sorry. It's just… hard to—you know—when I take the potion. I don't want us to get frustrated again."

Again. Because it had already happened earlier in the week, when Hannah and Barbara had gone into town after classes and Akko and Diana had landed some impromptu alone time together. Diana had tried for what felt like an hour, her tongue and fingers cramping as she tried everything that usually worked to no avail. Akko had just ended up telling her to stop and instead spent the rest of their time together apologizing and crying.

"Of course." Diana sighed. "Makes sense." She pushed aside the ache between her own legs and eased Akko off of her to grab the dream suppressant from her desk—after making sure that it was, in fact, the _correct_ potion. She handed it to Akko and turned off the lamp to climb under the covers. She felt Akko slip beneath the sheets and cuddle into her, but not before giving placing a small kiss on Diana's cheek.

Diana listened to Akko's breath level out, letting the other girl's hair tickle her lips as she inhaled the familiar scent of blossoms—the only thing that seemed to be the same.

But unlike Akko, sleep didn't come as easily to her. Instead, she stared up at the ceiling, filtering through the vast library of her mind for the memory of a spell that might help Akko. She had browsed half of _Curses, Hexes, and Miracle Magic: A History_ with absolutely nothing of use so far.

Diana prayed to the Nine that the other half held something, _anything_ that would bring Akko— _her_ Akko—back home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes**

Hey, remember that M rating? I'm using it here. You've been warned.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"I truly wish I had some advice for you, Akko, but unfortunately I'm completely unfamiliar with this kind of territory," Professor Ursula was saying as she placed a fresh kettle of tea down on the table. "Sugar, right? No cream?"

"Yeah. Just sugar," Akko replied, pulling over a steaming cup and dumping two spoonfuls of sugar into it. "Madam Wong said to just keep up with our sessions, but I really don't see a point." She rested her chin in her hand and stirred her tea, watching the sugar swirl into the pale liquid as it slowly dissolved. "I don't feel like it does anything."

Professor Ursula settled down in the chair across from Akko at the other side of the small table, peering at the student from behind the lenses of her glasses. The bright red hair of Chariot had been replaced with the tame blue of her alter-ego, falling soft and limp at the sides of her young face. "She may not be completely comfortable with treatment, either. This is a rather rare affliction for the magical community. After all, we have basic memory spells and a field that specializes in the more advanced techniques." She gripped her warm cup of tea between her hands, watching as Akko stirred far longer than she needed to. "It's been too long for any spell I know to work. Have you spoken to Madam Wong about possibly seeing a specialist?"

Akko shook her head, letting the spoon slip from her hands and clink against the side of the cup. "I already told her no," she said, sighing and leveling her eyes on Ursula's. "All of those memories have Diana and—you know—the important stuff that happened between us. I can't risk that. I can't _lose_ that."

Her mentor nodded in understanding. She had been there. She knew, though vaguely, what had taken place between the two witches, and she knew how she would respond if her memories with Croix were to be threatened. Even if they had been so long ago. "And how does Diana feel?"

With a scowl, Akko lifted her tea to her lips and took a tentative sip. She made a face and set it back down. "Too sweet," she grumbled. "She keeps trying to get me to have the procedure... but, I don't know. I doubt she would, either, if it was her. But why is it always about how Diana feels? What about me? It's _my_ life. Everyone keeps asking about her. Diana this, Diana that. I don't-"

"I apologize," Ursula said quickly, raising a hand in a signal to quiet Akko. "I just assumed you valued her opinion. It was a curiosity."

Akko frowned, taking a large gulp of her tea despite the bite of sugar on her tongue. "Sorry," she muttered, sinking against the hard, straight back of the wooden chair. "I do value her opinion. Of course I do. It's just... everyone seems to think I can't decide for myself."

Alcor spread his wings on his perch and cawed nearby—it sounded sad, empathetic. He fluffed his stark white feathers and tucked his long yellow beak into his chest, half-heartedly grooming beneath one lifted wing before settling back into silence. His small black eyes rested on the two witches as he observed, as though understanding the meaning behind their discussion. And maybe he did.

"If it helps..." Professor Ursula started, letting red eyes fall on her familiar momentarily before moving back to Akko, "You can always come speak with me."

Akko shrugged and pushed her half-finished tea across the table, fingers rapping against the side of the ceramic mug in a thoughtful rhythm. "I don't even know what to talk about," she said. "Everyone wants me to talk about it, but I don't really understand, either. I've seen worse stuff. Why this? Why now?"

Ursula brought her tea to her lips and took a slow sip, letting the bitter flavor fall around her tongue before swallowing. "Well, I suppose it's all about how you felt. How—how did it make you feel?"

Fingers withdrew from the cup and clenched into a fist as Akko squeezed her eyes shut and let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but can we just... not? Besides, you have your own stuff to think about."

Professor Ursula nodded, knowing full well her pupil was referring to the Wagandea pollen curse. She'd received a video call from Croix the week before on her orb, but the news hadn't been anything good. Once more, the lilac haired witch had tearfully informed her that her research continued to come up fruitless.

"Has Professor—I mean, Croix—has she had any luck with anything yet?" Akko asked.

"No," Ursula admitted, lowering her gaze to her mug of tea, into her own warped reflection that wavered back at her. "No, she hasn't. Not yet. I'm hoping... soon."

The two let silence settle between them as they both stared down at their tea, at their own hands, at anything that wasn't the other. Once again, Akko felt more like her mentor than ever before.

Only, this time, they both had something missing... and no end in sight.

* * *

" _Tia Freyre!_ "

Akko felt the broom waver and jolt beneath her, the toes of her boots scraping through the grass as she lifted slowly into the air. Her numb hands wrapped tightly around the shaft, lips pulling back into a determined sneer as she forced all concentration into the act, green tendrils of magic seeping from her skin with the effort.

"Very good, Miss Kagari!" Professor Nelson yelled, planting her hands firmly on her hips as she grinned at the young witch. "You are making outstanding progress!"

"Ooh, Kagari can hover," Amanda teased, jerking her own broomstick into a graceful back flip as she smirked at the Japanese witch. Her red hair danced as a cold breeze picked up around the group of students.

It was _extremely_ cold for March—so much so that Akko could feel her entire body shivering beneath the weight of her heavy cloak. A sudden rain had swept through Luna Nova the day before, engulfing the school in a fresh blanket of bitter winter weather. It was still windy, and frozen air bit through the warmth of clothing and straight into bare skin.

Akko reached up and tugged her hat a little lower on her forehead, burying her chin deep into her scarf. She ignored Amanda's comment and fueled the broomstick more magic, lifting a little bit higher and crossing her ankles beneath her.

"She's doing just fine," Lotte commented from Akko's side, looking much like a bundled child with the amount of winter gear she'd put on. Sucy, nearby, hadn't even bothered. She seemed to relish the cold, lavender hair swirling in front of her face as she grinned contentedly and angled her body into the wind.

Across the field, Diana's torso was nearly perpendicular with her broomstick as she leaned forward and urged it around the track in a blaze of speed. Hannah and Barbara trailed on either side, struggling to keep up with the Blue Team's unrivaled leader, but clearly having to use much more magical energy than they were capable of. As the two witches pulled up, panting heavily, Diana simply clenched her jaw and sped faster.

"Bet you wish you could be as cool as your girlfriend," Amanda taunted, throwing Hannah a thumbs up as the other girl, red in the face from both effort and the cold, slowly drifted back over to the group.

Professor Nelson scowled, whirling to face the American. "That's enough, Miss O'Neill. How about you go practice with Miss Cavendish? Maybe she can get your ego in check."

Amanda frowned, a blush working into her cheeks as she let her broom drift backwards. "Aw, she's nothing," she mumbled, but turned anyway and egged her broom after Diana.

"Miss Yanson, Miss Manbavaran, why don't you take Miss Kagari around the track for a few loops?" Professor Nelson suggested, waving a hand as she turned away to let them know that it wasn't a suggestion.

"Try not to fall off your broom," Sucy mumbled as she shot forward. Lotte and Akko followed, the latter still a little shaky as she tried to find her center of balance but, Nine, she was _flying_.

Ignoring the chill in the air and the burning numbness of her bare fingers, she tipped forward, flexing her lower arm muscles to pull up on the tip of the broom, and went a little faster.

"Careful, Akko," Lotte warned as she pulled up alongside, turning to watch the Japanese witch as she effortlessly kept up. "You haven't been flying too long. If you go too fast, you might lose control."

"I'm fine," Akko said. The bristles of the broom were shaking a little bit, but she didn't think that was anything she was doing wrong—probably just a draft from the wind.

"You're doing great, Akko," Jasminka said as she joined the Red Team, blowing a massive bubble with her gum, which only popped back in her own face. Constanze followed, tweaking the settings she'd installed on the handle of her broom to alternate jet power. Her goggles were tugged down over her eyes in a shield from the cold.

But, despite the weather, it really was rather peaceful.

"Cut it _out_ , Amanda!"

Diana's voice shrilled from behind them and the five witches turned to see both Diana and Amanda, tight together at breakneck speed as they arced around the track's wide expanse of a turn.

"Aw, c'mon!" Amanda yelled into the wind that was shrieking around her ears. "You don't like a little competition, Cavendish?"

Teeth bared in irritation and concentration, Diana pushed her hands forward and leaned into the broom, turning to glare at the taunting American witch. "Don't you have something better to do?"

Diana carefully angled her broom to the outside of the track, well clear of the slowly flying Red and Green team that hugged the inside turn, but Amanda had other plans. She cut straight through the group. "Move it, kids!" she shouted, urging her broom in front of her competition's with the ground-saving maneuver.

"Hey!" Akko growled, feeling her broom jolt and twist beneath her. It spun in the air and she just barely managed to hang on, shifting her seat and flailing her legs beneath her in the process.

"A-Amanda! Stop!" Lotte yelled, reaching out to grab Akko's shoulder and steady the other girl.

Finally returning her broomstick to control, Akko glared after the red-headed witch, who continued to banter with Diana as they flew on. "That's _it!_ " she howled and, before any of her friends could oppose, she was leaning forward and hurtling through the air behind the other two.

"Akko—no!" she heard Lotte call.

Her broom was squirming and quivering underneath her, but she ignored it. Instead, her knuckles went white beneath a tightening grip, her knees pulled up underneath her as she sped up. Her magic pulsed in waves as she fed it into the broomstick, blood burning hot with the effort.

She was right behind Amanda. Her nostrils flared. Her long brunette hair whipped out behind her, slashing relentlessly at her cheeks and neck.

"Akko, what are you doing?" Diana called. She angled her broomstick to cut in at the other witch as she held her in a scolding stare. "You're not advanced enough for this. You're going to lose control. Stop!"

But Akko ignored her, too.

"Aw, little tyke's trying to keep up?" Amanda teased as she glanced over her shoulder and grinned. "Not bad, Kagari. Maybe you'll be a witch, yet."

Akko felt anger flare, deep and burning, behind her eyes. She was _sick_ of Amanda making fun of her, _sick_ of being told she couldn't fly, _sick_ of being told she wasn't a proper witch.

"Amanda, you are being absolutely incorrigible. Go do something else!" Diana scolded, reaching out to wrap a hand around Akko's arm in an attempt to pull her up.

The red-haired witch laughed and straightened up. "Good thing you've got Cavendish, Kagari. Bet you couldn't do anything without-"

Akko knew she shouldn't—but she did.

She took a deep breath and channeled the magic between herself and Diana at the single touch to pour it into the broomstick. She felt Diana's hand reel back in surprise, but Akko had already applied it. It was too late. The broom bolted forward and Akko slammed her shoulder against Amanda's, red eyes flashing with fury.

"Whoa, whoa, Akko, stop! What are you doing?" Amanda cried out as her broom jerked to the side. A more inexperienced witch would have lost her balance, but she knew what she was doing. Her body swayed with the unexpected movement of the broom and she straightened herself back up with a minor correction.

Akko grit her teeth and pressed up against Amanda as the two sped around the track. She could hear Professor Nelson's whistle blowing furiously but paid it no mind, leaning hard into the other girl and pushing her to the outside. She could feel her skin quivering, her muscles flexing, her pulse loud in her temples.

"Stop it, Akko!" Amanda yelled. "I was just playing!"

With an expert jerk of her hand, Amanda's broom shot in the air to break away from the other girl. She turned it in a quick loop and skidded to a stop just as she was a foot from the ground, leaping off in one quick movement.

The maneuver of the other witch sent Akko spiraling uncontrollably. She was barely able to turn the broomstick to the inside of the track, where she crashed into the turf with a thud.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Amanda's green eyes were sparking with anger as she stomped toward the Japanese witch, who was climbing to her feet and brushing herself off.

"What's wrong with _you_?" Akko countered, grinding her teeth together and slinging her broom over her shoulder as she glared back at Amanda. Her heart was pounding against her chest, nostrils flaring with each heavy breath. The muscles of her jaw tensed and rolled as she tried to choke back the fury that she couldn't seem to control.

"Stop it, both of you!"

Diana vaulted off her broomstick and hit the ground running, blonde hair waving around her shoulders, cheeks dusted with red. "Knock it off, right now! Akko, what's gotten into you?" She didn't like the look on Akko's face, nor the anger that bubbled, unbridled, around her magical signature.

Akko leveled burning red eyes at Diana. "What do you mean what's gotten into me? She's the one being a total jerk. But, got it, take her side. Typical." She threw her broom over her shoulder and stormed off—but not before slamming a shoulder into Amanda, who yelled, "Hey!" in surprise.

Ignoring the cries of Professor Nelson to, "Stop, Miss Kagari!" and, "Get back here!", she stomped off the school grounds, back toward the main building of Luna Nova.

She could feel the darkness behind her eyes, the quivering of her muscles, the fingernails digging into her palms. For once, she felt _something._

She felt _anger_.

* * *

Diana's eyes were weary as she stared down at the tiny text before her. The other side of her room had grown dark long ago when Hannah and Barbara had retreated to their own respective beds. The alarm clock on her desk showed 11:08. She had an exam the next day, but she was determined to make it at least most of the way through _Curses, Hexes, and Miracles: A History_ before retiring.

She sipped at her chamomile tea, which had grown cool, as she turned the thin pages. Diagrams and descriptions glared back at her, though nothing that was of use. She rubbed at her temple and sighed, glancing at the welcoming bed beside her, before continuing.

As she flipped the next page, the mug of tea froze against her lips. She slowly lowered her hand, setting the cup onto its saucer with a dull clink, as her eyes locked on the thick block of text that spread across both pages in bold lettering.

 _ **Lumi**_ _ **è**_ _ **re de l'esprit**_

On the left side of the text was a photograph of an aged lantern. It looked like any other—just a dark bronze, medieval styled hand lamp with bars running perpendicular around the glass housing. A chain handle draped over the side, wrapping around the ornate, triangular carvings of the lid.

Diana read on.

 _The Lumi_ _è_ _re de l'esprit is a lantern that dates in construction back to the late 12_ _th_ _century. This artifact has been recorded to purify afflictions of the mind, used primarily by the nursing staff of the H_ _ô_ _tel Dieu in Paris to treat symptoms of mental impurity. As written in journals of the time, the lamp was utilized by extracting the mind's curse of the target and purifying the disease in the flame within._

 _Use of the Lumi_ _è_ _re de l'esprit was abandoned following the destruction of the H_ _ô_ _tel Dieu in 1772, when the flame of the lantern grew overwhelmed during the extraction of a particularly diseased patient and set fire to the west ward. In 1840, French poet and novelist Victor Hugo purchased the Lumi_ _è_ _re de l'esprit during the liquidization of many of the H_ _ô_ _tel Dieu's artifacts._

 _The Lumi_ _è_ _re de l'esprit was recorded missing as of 1848, though later discovered in the Crypt of the Sepulchral Lamp in the Catacombs of Paris in 1959., where it remained until purchased at auction by Miranda Holbrooke in 1983._

Diana froze, breath faltering. Her fingers fell, twitching, at the sides of the large tome as she read the text once more.

So there _was_ something out there that could help Akko—and it was owned by none other than her Headmistress. Something that wasn't questionable therapy, that wasn't the risk of memory extraction. A light that would simply take the dark away.

And that light was somewhere within the walls of Luna Nova.

* * *

Akko's head rocked back against the pillow as a low moan slipped from between her dry lips. Her hips rose to meet Diana's hand with each thrust, fingers gripping at damp sheets with white knuckles as she sucked in shuddering breaths. A sheen of sweat glistened on her chest and writhing torso.

Diana could feel the muscles of her fingers and wrist cramping. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of her temple, damp hair falling in limp waves across her back. Her fingernails raked down Akko's sternum as she drove forward and curled her fingers inside the other girl.

" _Nine_ , Diana, don't stop. Please, don't stop," Akko panted, eyelids flickering open as her hips bucked and flattened.

Diana smirked back at her, blue eyes meeting red as she slowly bent down and took the other girl in her mouth to a loud, satisfactory moan, which made her thank the Nine for preemptively putting up that sound barrier around her side of the room.

Akko hadn't let Diana touch her in weeks and she wasn't about to waste the opportunity, even though it felt like she had been trying _forever_. She could feel the burning low in her abdomen, the ache between her legs mounting as she moved inside Akko. One hand moved to push the other girl's hips into the bed to keep her from moving too rambunctiously.

With a groan, Akko's knuckles flexed against the sheets. Everything felt so _good_. The pressure was mounting inside her, flaring deep in the pit of her stomach. She lifted one hand and threaded her fingers into damp blonde hair, unable to stop the short gasps that fell from her lips with each drag of Diana's tongue. She felt her eyes rolling back and she tensed her shoulders as her head fell against the pillow once more.

Her heart was slamming against her chest, pulse throbbing at her temple as she tried to focus on the feeling of Diana and reaching her own peak. Fingernails dug into the back of the other girl's scalp as she tightened her grip on a fistful of hair and arched her back.

She forced her eyes open and looked down to find Diana staring back at her. Her breath shuddered and she moaned once more, feeling darkness clouding her vision as her jaw slackened and locked, lips moving in silent prayer with the twitching of her muscles.

The warmth of Diana's mouth slipped away and she moved up, pressing deeper into Akko as she pinned her to the bed by her shoulder. Her chest heaved as she panted in exhaustion, grinding against the other girl's thigh with each rhythmic curl of her fingers.

She leaned down and pressed her mouth to Akko's ear. "Come for me, darling," she breathed, heart skipping at the desperate moan she elicited from her lover.

Everything felt so wonderful—but then—like the switch of a light—too much.

It was too much.

Akko was, all at once, overwhelmed. Her chest started to heave, her nostrils flared as she fought for air in desperate pants. She could feel her entire body shuddering, and not in the way that she was hoping for. No, her skin was twitching, aching, screaming.

"Stop," she murmured, feeling her spine stiffen as her jaw clenched and she gasped for air. Blood flooded, burning and pulsing, into her chest.

"What?" Diana lifted her head, blonde eyebrows stitching together in confusion as she stared down at Akko, surprised to find the tears that leaked from the corner of her eyes to stream down her temples.

"Stop," Akko repeated, more forcefully. "Diana, _stop!_ "

Diana pulled away, swiping her hand across the sheets—she'd clean them later, it was fine—just as Akko sat up and curled in on herself, a loud, unexpected choke of a sob rolling through her body.

"Akko, what's wrong?"

All at once, the thrill of the moment and the desire that tugged inside her was gone. Diana wrapped her arms around Akko's shoulders and pulled her in, trying to force magic from her own body into Akko's as a comfort, only to find the other girl completely blocking it out.

Akko's muscles jerked as she gasped for air. She raised one fist to her chest and clawed into her skin as her lungs heaved, her other hand digging desperately into the sheets. The pressure in her chest mounted, wrapping around her ribcage, squeezing hard at her heart. "Make it stop," she moaned, tilting her chin back and letting the tears roll into her hair.

Diana squeezed her tighter.

Akko's entire body shuddered beneath the weight of the other girl. "Get off," she heard herself begging, toes curling into the sheets as she inhaled a wavering breath.

"Akko-"

"Get _off!_ " Akko shrieked so loud that Diana released her immediately and jerked back across the bed.

Diana felt her heart throb, her breath hiccup in her throat, her own hot tears springing to her eyes with Akko's sudden anger. "Akko, what's-"

"I'm sorry," Akko moaned, another sob coursing through her body as she still struggled to get air into her lungs. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I can't—I can't stop it-" She released the sheets and pressed her fingers against her temple, digging dents into the bright red skin. Snot dribbled across her upper lip, though she made no move to wipe it away, instead parting her lips as her lungs begged for air.

And Diana could do _nothing._

She could only watch while the girl she loved let her mind engulf her as she tried to fight off the panic attack by herself. As her body rocked with sobs, as her chest rattled with each desperate, shuddering breath.

Diana looked to her desk, to the book that she knew held the answer, and felt her fists clench at her sides as her own silent tears streaked from her face to drip from her chin.

The shell of a girl before her wasn't Akko. No, the Akko she knew was slipping further away, deeper into a pit of suffering that she couldn't claw her way out of.

Jaw clenching in resolve, Diana turned her flashing blue eyes back to the girl who shook and curled in on herself, the girl who, months ago, had been so happy and carefree.

She was going to bring Akko back.

With whatever it took, she was going to get the Lumière de l'esprit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Soft beams of light streamed through open curtains, bathing the side of Diana's pale face in warmth as she pulled her eyes open, slowly blinking the sleep away. She could hear Hannah and Barbara already awake, shuffling around on the other side of the room and talking to each other in hushed whispers. There was another, deeper voice—Amanda's, maybe? Diana hadn't realized the American witch had spent the night, though her Friday evenings tended to focus solely on the girl at her side if she wasn't studying.

With a heavy sigh, Diana turned her head to let her eyes fall on Akko. The other girl was rolled away from her, curled up on her side beneath the covers with one hand dangling off the edge of the bed. Her mouth was slightly open as slow breaths trickled from her lips, brunette hair splayed in wild patterns across the white fabric of the pillow.

It had been a long night, and Diana would be lying if she said she wasn't exhausted. Following her breakdown, Akko had done nothing but cry and apologize—which was fine, she had nothing to be sorry for, but the rubber band of emotions had left them both drained.

Diana rolled over, draping one arm around the sleeping girl, and pulled her in close. She buried her face into Akko's soft hair and squeezed her eyes shut, inhaling deeply. She could feel the muscles of Akko's back rippling beneath soft skin, rolling into the gentle dip of her spine as her body shifted. The other girl let out a sleepy hum of satisfaction in response, pressing back into the warm body wrapped around her.

"Wake up," Diana whispered into her ear, tightening her hold on Akko's torso and placing a soft kiss to the back of her neck. "It's already half eight."

"Mmm," Akko grunted, pulling her arm back to cover Diana's and letting her fingers dance over the soft skin of the other girl's wrist. "Five more minutes."

Even with the quiet mumble of her request, Akko turned over and molded her body into Diana's, pressing her face up into the crook of the other girl's neck and brushing her lips against warm flesh. "Morning," she purred, smiling into smooth skin.

Morning Akko was one of Diana's favorites. Under the first sunlight of the day, while the two fought to keep their eyes open and simply enjoyed being _together_ , Akko was herself. Sleepy, adorable, and, quite simply, Akko.

Diana sighed into the sensation of Akko's thin, naked torso pressed into her own. She usually strictly enforced sleeping clothed—it was already risky enough that they were sometimes intimate while Hannah and Barbara were sleeping (though sound barrier spells made things easier)—and the last thing that she wanted was for one of them to come around the bookshelf and see anything. But Akko had fallen asleep in her arms the night before, physically and mentally drained in such a way that made the other girl's arms fall limp around her own body, and she hadn't the heart to wake her and have her put her sleep clothes on. She tugged the sheets up around their shoulders, a protective shield of Akko's modesty, and held her tight.

"Good morning," she replied. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Akko said, her voice husky and broken, still laced with the effort of waking, "But I feel bad. I'm sorry I kept you up."

"There's no need to apologize. It's not a problem." Diana could hear the clinking of a spoon against a mug of tea, the gentle wheeze of a pillow receiving a body on the couch, a whisper from Hannah, a low chuckle from Amanda. For a brief moment, a pang of jealousy coursed through her blood—Hannah and Amanda were so carefree in their relationship, so effortless in their content. And there she was, holding the broken shards of the one person she loved the most and just struggling to help her get through most days. She pulled back and pressed closed lips against Akko's, something she normally wasn't keen on in the morning before brushing her teeth. However, exceptions were never completely out of the question, and this was an exception. She felt the other girl kissing her back, a surprised exhale of breath ghosting across her cheek.

"Thanks," Akko said when Diana pulled away. She was smiling—that crooked, lazy smile that she would put on just for the blonde witch. Her fingers squeezed against the fabric of Diana's t-shirt.

"There's no need to thank me for kissing you," Diana scolded, feeling a warm blush seeping into her cheeks. "You act as though I deprive you of basic intimacy."

"You _do_ ," Akko whined, pressing her lips back into Diana's and smiling into the dry kiss. "I need to be kissed all the time."

"'Ey, lovebirds!" Amanda hollered from the other side of the bookshelf. "I can hear that you're awake. We've been waiting for you to go to breakfast. I'm _starved_. Move it along, would you?"

"Puh- _leease_ ," Hannah moaned.

Diana chuckled, reaching up to lazily trace fingers against Akko's temple as she pushed her fringe away from her eyes. "Looks like that'll have to wait." She pressed a finger to the tip of Akko's nose and let a fleeting smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Now take your potion and get dressed."

Akko lifted the covers, looking down at her naked body as though confused, before grunting an acknowledgment. "Could I maybe take my potion… _after_ breakfast? I feel fine and I kind of want some time to be… you know…"

Herself. Diana knew. She glanced at the potions that Akko had lined up on her desk and frowned, letting a sigh slip through her nostrils as she sat up, the sheets drifting to her waist. She turned back to find red eyes looking back at her, glimmering with both hope and uncertainty.

The selfish part of Diana was nagging at the front of her mind. She wanted time with Akko— _her_ Akko—the one that was cheerful and upbeat, the one that gave and took playful banter, the one who, when she smiled, had a flame in those gorgeous crimson eyes. She wanted an Akko that wasn't held back by scheduled potions, who wasn't delayed by the mind-altering effects of her medication. But she did know the importance of a regular schedule when it came to such things as mental health potions.

Her hand fell to Akko's cheek, thumb brushing ever so gently against the pouting bottom lip, and she felt herself smiling as the selfish part of her easily won the battle.

"After breakfast, then."

* * *

"Hey! Akko!"

The Red Team stopped in their tracks in the North Hallway as Akko pirouetted on her heel. Amanda was rushing up behind them, her new broom ("Forget Canadian brooms, Swedish are even _better_! Lighter _and_ a smoother carve!" she'd told them when the imported broomstick finally arrived) clutched tight in her hand. She slowed to a stop in front of them, fingers running coolly through her hair. The collar of her uniform was crumpled in a way that Akko knew would give Diana a stomach ache.

"Hey Lotte, Sucy," Amanda greeted with a small wave and a flash of a smile.

"Hi, Amanda," Lotte said back. Sucy just grunted a response and stared off down the hall at some especially rambunctious first-years with a very clear look of distaste.

"Hey," Akko replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth at the sight of her American friend. The events of flying class were long since forgotten—Akko didn't have the memory span, nor the energy, to even consider holding a grudge. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to... maybe... fly with me? A little?" At the sight of Akko nervously eyeing the window, she quickly added, "It's nice out. Really warm. Unless you have plans with Diana, of course."

She definitely didn't have plans with Diana. Diana had made it _very_ clear that she had to get some studying done, and she had also made it _very_ clear that Akko was too much of a distraction to be anywhere near her while she worked. At the same time, she really kind of just wanted to go relax. "Er..." Akko shot a glance at her friends. Sucy still looked completely disinterested, Lotte just rolled her shoulders in a small shrug. "I was kind of going to study for that Magical Linguistics exam next week."

"Yeah, right," Sucy scoffed, finally turning her attention to the group. "That's a lie if I ever heard one."

"You like flying, Akko," Lotte added from her side, gazing up at her with bright blue eyes. "You should go, you really need to get outside! You've spent too much time cooped up in our room."

It was true, Akko _had_ spent an inordinate amount of time by herself in their room, either occupying her time by catching up on manga or studying (which kind of ended up being her just staring at her textbooks). It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to do anything. She just didn't _feel_ like doing anything.

"Aw, please?" Amanda begged.

Akko sighed. She would feel bad if she said no. Amanda hardly ever asked her to hang out, just the two of them, and she hated to let her friends down regardless. "Alright," she said finally. "Let me just go get my broom."

When she finally stepped out into the vestibule with her broom, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Amanda hadn't been lying about the weather—it _was_ nice. As soon as Akko felt the warm, late afternoon sun on her cheeks, she instantly regretted putting on her cloak. She shrugged out of it and instead tied it near the bristles, momentarily considering the offset to her center of gravity, but decided it wasn't really that important. She'd have to practice for when she had luggage there, anyway.

The American witch was waiting in the middle of the yard, twirling her broom in her hands like a baton, the green ribbon she'd tied around it billowing out in a blur of color. "'Bout time!" she yelled as Akko strode up. She flashed a bright smile. "Thought I got stood up."

"No you didn't," Akko joked. "Where are we going? Or did you just want to rip on my flying skills some more?"

"Aw, that was just joking," Amanda said, mounting her broom and kicking it into the air with a, " _Tia Freyre_!"

" _Tia Freyre_!" Akko mimicked, feeling the familiar jolt in her stomach as the broom lurched gracelessly into the air. She settled her seat, awkwardly moving her legs around until her flight seemed to level out, and hesitantly followed Amanda higher into the sky.

"I just wanted to hang out with you, is that so much to ask?" Amanda glanced over her shoulder at the Japanese witch and threw her a smirk. "Plus, I kinda wanted to talk to you about some stuff."

Akko hummed, leaning forward on her broom and speeding up so that she was right beside her red-haired friend. "What do you mean?" she asked, peering curiously over at Amanda. The other girl was staring straight ahead, a slight blush cropping up on her cheeks.

"Eh, let's get a little higher," Amanda said. She dipped her shoulder to the right and sent her broom rocketing up to the highest point of the Luna Nova tower.

Akko glanced down, swallowed hard, and followed.

She was almost relieved when Amanda landed at the very top of the tower, the glow of the Philosopher's stone engulfing her as she turned and beckoned Akko to follow suit. As her feet hit the hard surface of stone, she let out a long sigh. Flying was fun, but this high up still made her nervous. After all, what if she fell? She still didn't trust her own abilities.

The two witches plopped down at the edge, their feet dangling comfortably off the side. With the height of the tower brought a chilly breeze and, suddenly thankful for her lack of adherence to the Amanda's advice, Akko untangled her robe and slipped back into it.

"What's up?" Akko asked at last, realizing that Amanda was certainly not going to start the conversation. The girl seemed almost... nervous? No, that wasn't right. Embarrassed?

"I... don't usually talk with anyone about this kinda stuff," Amanda finally admitted, locking her fingers together in her lap and staring out across the grounds of Luna Nova, orange and gold against the setting sun. Her usually mischievous green eyes were glazed in thought as she turned to meet red. "But you're kinda—I don't know—cool? Don't repeat that," she muttered with a dismissive wave. "Anyway, you have this really great relationship with Diana. I mean, you two are perfect together and... well, you make me a little jealous, alright? Don't repeat that either," she added.

Akko simply looked away, letting her gaze fall on the observatory and the many memories it held with Diana. She felt a hot wave of guilt settling against her skin, tugging at her temples. Amanda thought they were perfect? Was that the impression they gave? Diana was. She was _great_ , everything Akko could have possibly asked for. She wasn't, though.

"I won't," she said, teeth clamping down to gnaw at an already chewed spot on her bottom lip as she turned her attention back to Amanda. "Is everything alright with Hannah?"

"Yeah. No. I mean—yeah. Yes. Everything's good. Everything's _great_ ," Amanda replied, though Akko could sense the indecisiveness that edged into the other girl's voice. "Hannah's great."

Akko's eyebrows stitched together as she watched the green eyes that wouldn't quite meet hers. "Then what's up?"

Amanda sighed, planting her elbows on her knees and sinking her face into her hands. For a moment, Akko thought that the other girl was crying. Through her fingers, she could just make out the red on her cheeks that matched her fiery hair. No, she most certainly wasn't crying.

"How did you-" She hesitated, lowering her hands and rolling her jaw, eyes trained straight ahead. "How did you... know?"

Akko simply blinked. "Know what?"

"That—that you—you _know_ ," Amanda groaned. "Don't make me say it."

"I have no idea what you're even talking about," Akko replied, shoulders hunching a little bit as a cold breeze passed over them. Amanda _had_ to be cold. She was just in her blouse with the sleeves rolled up and her vest halfway buttoned (something else that would have given Diana a stomach ache), though she didn't seem bothered in the least. Maybe it was an American thing to not be prepared for a change in weather.

"How did you know that you loved her?" Amanda finally blurted, fresh heat rising into her face at her own words.

"Oh," Akko said. A quiet chuckle slid from the back of her throat. "Oh. That's it? Really? I thought it was something bad."

"Look, I'm not good with these kinds of things, alright?" Amanda moaned, throwing her hands on the ground behind her and leaning back as she kicked her legs against the wall of the tower. "I've never loved anyone. I've never even dated anyone! And don't tell anyone I said that. I've got a reputation to keep, you know?"

"Huh?" Akko raised an eyebrow. "What about that girl from Blytonbury last semester?"

"I lied about that," Amanda huffed, squeezing her eyes shut and letting her chin drop to her chest. "I was just trying to get it out of you that you liked Diana—I mean, it was _obvious_ , and actually really cute—and so I just made it up. I actually flew off to get this card for Hannah because I was going to slip it into her bag and ask her out, but then I decided, that's stupid, who would use a card for that?" She sighed heavily and straightened back up.

"That's... actually really cute." Akko could feel herself smiling. She knew there was more to Amanda O'Neill than her arrogant front, but she had no idea the American was _this_ much of a softie. Nine, she didn't even know the other girl could turn that _red_.

Amanda looked down at her fidgeting fingers. "But... er... can you just answer the question?"

"Um..." Akko paused, a crease etching between her eyebrows in thought. "I don't know. I just kind of _knew_ , I guess," she answered. "It's just this feeling I get when she's around. It's like I can relax and be whoever I want to be. I don't have to worry about what anybody thinks, or about being good enough. I feel... I don't know." She took a deep breath, letting her eyes flicker to the sunset, to the red glow of the sun as it slid further into the horizon. "I feel home. If that makes sense."

Amanda nodded. For a while, she didn't say anything. She let her gaze follow Akko's, quietly contemplating the other girl's answer while she stared down at the yard, etched in the warm colors of a Spring evening. She could just make out the few students milling about, a few darting around the track on their brooms at a speed that Amanda would have described as 'Toddler level'. Finally, after a great deal of silence that wasn't at all uncomfortable, she said, "I think I love Hannah."

Akko found herself turning the dangling cloth of her red sash in her hand as she looked back to Amanda with a smile. "That's great."

Nodding once more, Amanda let her own smile slide across her face, her blush slowly disappearing into her usually pale skin. "I'll just have to find a way to tell her. No cards," she said with a chuckle. "I'm... pretty sure she feels the same. I hope."

Akko's fingers unconsciously creased the sash together, stroking at the heavy cloth in thought as silence settled once more between them. Finally, she heard herself speak. "Hey, Amanda?"

"Hmm?" Amanda lifted her green eyes, seeming to have returned to her usual confidence as she leaned back on her elbows.

"Do you..." Akko trailed off, dropping the sash and meeting Amanda's eyes. "Do you really think Diana and I are perfect?"

Amanda nodded. "Yeah. You can tell how much you two love each other. Anyone with a pulse can tell that much." She pressed her shoulders forward in a shrug, rocking on her elbows. "Why? Is everything alright with you two?"

"Yeah," Akko replied. "I mean, I think. I don't know." She could feel the shadow that passed over her face, a tense smile fading into a heavy frown. "We're just going through some stuff right now."

Amanda straightened up, red brows furrowing in concern. "Is that why you've been acting weird lately?"

"I—I guess, kind of, yeah? It's not Diana's fault. She's amazing. It's..." Akko trailed off, dropping her eyes as she considered how far she wanted to go with this conversation. Amanda _was_ her friend. They'd been through a lot together. And Amanda had trusted Akko with _her_ feelings, so Akko supposed it could go the other way around, too. "It's me," she finished, pulling her legs from the edge of the tower and crossing them beneath her as she hunched forward.

"Well, I don't have anywhere to be," Amanda replied, placing a hand on Akko's shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. "Hannah's hanging out with Barbara. I have all night."

Akko leveled her gaze with Amanda's, studying the genuine smile of reassurance, the softness in her emerald eyes. With a deep breath, she slowly told Amanda everything—the nightmares, the panic attacks, her sessions with Madam Wong, Diana (well, excluding the whole sex part, she didn't need to know that). Everything.

She thought it'd be scary to tell someone. She thought her friends would think she was dumb, or weak, or just plain making it up. But to her surprise, Amanda only nodded and listened carefully. She didn't try to interject, to make suggestions on what to do, or even add logic to anything that she felt. Akko never once got the sense that her friend was judging her.

And she found that talking to someone felt surprisingly... good.

* * *

"Good evening, Headmistress," Diana greeted as she pushed open the door to the office during their scheduled appointment time. She could have just showed up at any time—such was the luxury of House prestige and, well, her standing as a student at Luna Nova—but she much preferred to make appointments. It was simply a matter of respect.

"Oh, hello, Miss Cavendish!"

Headmistress Holbrooke rose behind her desk, pushing her glasses up onto her nose and offering the blonde witch a soothing smile. Though at full height she barely rose to Diana's chest, the air of authority she exuded held her to a much greater presence than her physical stature.

"What is it would you like to speak with me about?"

Diana let her eyes wander the massive shelves that lined the Headmistress's office, which ran into a tall arched window that was filtering in the last rays of the setting sun. Returning her gaze to the older woman, she forced her most polite smile and said, "I wanted to speak to you about the current arrangements for tutoring sessions. As you know, we're getting to mid-semester exams."

"Right." Headmistress Holbrooke nodded, sitting back down at her desk and pulling out a thick binder, which she began flipping through at a rapid pace. "I understand exactly where you are going with this. You currently tutor the first-years from 5-7 Monday through Thursday, is that correct?"

Diana nodded, taking the time that her Headmistress spent staring down at the binder to scrutinize the objects on the shelves. There was a large chalice carved from what looked like yellowed bone, cracked along the side and looking all too neglected. A poor taxidermy job of a rabbit combined with a large lizard, though the animal had clearly not been so in life—it was a hack job of a postmortem fusion. A broom that looked completely ordinary save for bristles made from stiffened human hair.

No lantern.

"The Professors will be extending their office hours during midterms, so if you are comfortable, we can cut you down to 5-6. Would that give you enough additional time to properly study for your own exams?" Headmistress Holbrooke lifted her head and peered through her small glasses at Diana, who folded her hands at the small of her back and offered a curt nod.

"I believe that would suit me just fine. I can, of course, return to normal hours following the Spring holiday," Diana replied.

"That would be wonderful." Headmistress Holbrooke picked up a long, slightly ragged looking pheasant quill and dipped it into an ink well (which had spilled _all_ over her desk) before jotting something down in the binder.

Diana's eyes fell on a canary stand that stood behind the Headmistress which, despite the droppings that still caked the dented iron, held no bird. It wasn't exactly the stand that caught Diana's attention, though she did acknowledge it with some level of disgust, but the lamp that sat on a table next to it.

A dark bronze, medieval styled hand lamp. Bars ran in a perpendicular pattern around the dusty glass housing. A chain dangled from the top and fell down over the side of the table, static in the still interior of the office. And, though it was difficult to see without squinting, Diana could just barely make out the triangular carvings etched around the thin bronze lid that wasn't fully closed.

"Alright," Headmistress Holbrooke finished, slamming the binder shut in a cloud of dust and looking back to the student with a wide grin. "Starting next Monday you may cut your time back to an hour. We certainly do appreciate you spending time with the first-years, Miss Cavendish. It makes a remarkable amount of difference in their grades."

Diana hummed, narrowing her eyes at the lamp. "Headmistress Holbrooke, may I ask what that artifact is?" she asked, keeping her hands firmly around her back and nodding in the direction of the lantern. "The hand lamp?"

"Oh," Headmistress Holbrooke turned, her gaze falling on the lantern with a look of bewildered amusement. "This old thing? It's a quite remarkable lantern of French construction. If I'm correct in my memory, it was used by nurses in a psychiatric hospital to relieve the mental torment of their patients."

She strode over to the table, lifting a finger as though to touch the lantern, but instead let her hand fall back to her side. "A curious old thing. It has a rather mysterious history, as its use was suddenly abandoned some time ago." She turned back to Diana, dismissing the artifact with a wave of her hand. "I got it for quite the bargain. I thought it would add nicely to my collection."

The most wonderful thing about being Diana Cavendish had to be that the teachers never _questioned_ her curiosity—if, say, Akko were to walk in and ask about the lamp, she would immediately be met with raised eyebrows and an accusatory, "Why do you ask?"

Diana, though, received no such treatment. Her curiosity was assumed to be one of intellect, of furthering her internal library for some future, unforeseen occasion.

Such was the privilege of being devoted to her studies and mature beyond her years.

"I see," was all Diana said.

She stared at the lamp for another moment, but not quite so long as to arouse suspicion, before returning her attention to Headmistress Holbrooke and clearing her throat behind a closed fist. "I certainly appreciate the time you took to speak with me, Headmistress. I'll be taking my leave."

"Of course, Miss Cavendish," Headmistress Holbrooke replied with a warm smile. "Enjoy the rest of your evening and, please, try not to study _too_ excessively."

Diana nodded politely, allowing her own smile to forge across her lips as she turned to leave—but not before stealing one last, quick glance at the exact reason she'd come to visit, at the artifact she'd come to confirm.

At the Lumi _è_ re de l'esprit, which she would most _certainly_ be stealing, in a manner very unlike Diana Cavendish, at a later time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The lantern had not been used for well over 200 years. Diana could consider herself a lot of things, but ignorant was not one of them. There was a reason for its abandonment, for its disappearance into the Crypt of the Sepulchral Lamp. She just had to find out what it was.

After all, she wasn't _about_ to use something on Akko that could potentially cause the girl harm.

Her fingernails dug into the thin skin of her forehead as she hunched over the multitude of books that were spread across the table in front of her at her usual study location in the library. It was one of the lesser used tables, most likely because it was far beyond most of the shelves that were popular for students who were only there because they had to be, but also because it was a great distance from the window and sunlight that beamed into the musty ward. But Diana didn't mind the darkness in the least. In fact, she found it preferable when she was trying to study or do research. The less distraction, the better.

She glanced at the oil lantern that lit the table in a comfortable orange glow, watching a small moth (which was possibly causing harm to some of the books, Diana would have to inform the librarian) awkwardly lurching around the flame. With a huff, she lowered her eyes back to the old book she'd been browsing for the better part of an hour and let herself slouch a little further.

Diana usually held herself to higher standards with her posture... but she had been there for nearly her _entire_ Sunday. And, Nine, she was feeling it. Her back and shoulders ached beneath the weight of her diligence.

She could hear footsteps approaching and she could tell, almost instantly, whose they were. It was easy to distinguish the heavier fall of the toe, the almost lazy swagger of the stride. An expecting smile flitted across her lips.

"Hey, babe," came Akko's welcome, yet quiet, voice. She had finally begun to respect the environment of the library, and for that Diana was proud.

Diana tugged her weary eyes to meet Akko's crooked smile, at the two steaming mugs of tea that she held carefully in her hands. "Hey, yourself," she replied. "How'd you know where I was?"

"Barbara," Akko said, sliding one of the cups of tea across the table to Diana. "Fukamushicha," she added before the other girl could ask. "Okaa-san sent me some fresh sencha. Anyway, I know you're studying, but you've been here for a while and I was just thinking about you and figured you could use a pick-me-up." Though dark, Diana could see the blush that rose into the other girl's cheeks. Cute.

Diana had grown up used to the mellow, sometimes herbal flavor of British teas. Though she had been doubtful at first that she would enjoy the taste of the light, grassy Japanese teas that Akko made, she'd come to find them rather enjoyable. Akko could make tea just as well as Anna, which actually came as a pleasant surprise.

"Thank you," she replied, lifting the mug between her hands and taking a hesitant sip. She let the heavy flavor roll over her tongue. She nodded at the chair across from her, which Akko took quickly, as though she'd been waiting for an invitation the entire time.

"How's it going?" Akko asked, staring at the multiple books that littered the table. _Curses, Hexes, and Miracles: A History, A Complete Encyclopedia of Historical Magical Artifacts (from A to Z), Victor Hugo: A Biography, The_ _H_ _ _ô__ _tel-dieu at Beaune,_ and the one Diana was holding, which was _Clinical Trials of Hysteria and Psychosis: 16th-17_ _th_ _Centuries_. "Uh, wow," she murmured, eyebrows stitching together as she sipped her tea. "This is a lot. Uh, is this for a class?"

"No," Diana admitted, lowering the text, which hadn't been of any use, as it was. The book merely contained an outline of the number of medical procedures that had been used to treat patients with mental illnesses, mostly consisting of isolation, experimental medications, lobotomies, and forced female orgasm. All of which made Diana's brain hurt from the sheer ignorance of past physicians. Nothing remotely magical related, and especially not pertaining to the lantern in question.

The most she'd been able to find was that Victor Hugo had a daughter who was diagnosed with schizophrenia about the time he'd owned the lamp. She wondered whether he had purchased it to try to help her, though when she looked further and realized the woman had never been cured of her affliction, she thought otherwise.

"It's... for you," Diana added, feeling heat rising to her face as she stared down at the nearly clear tea. "I'm just doing a bit of research on your condition."

Akko leaned back in her chair and hummed. "You don't have to do that," she said. "Madam Wong has me on this new potion and I feel way better than before. Besides, you should be studying for exams, shouldn't you?"

"I could argue that you should be doing the same," Diana replied, leveling Akko with cool blue eyes that made the Japanese witch look away in guilt. "And I don't like that you have to take potions at all. You're much too young to rely on mind-altering magical substances to get through the day."

"I don't think there's ever a good age for that," Akko grumbled, letting go of her tea and folding her thin arms across her body.

Diana sighed, pressing the mug to her lips one more time before slowly lowering it. "You're tired all the time," she said.

"I was tired all the time before, too," Akko countered, lifting a hand to wave it dismissively. "They make us wake up way too early here."

"You can hardly focus on anything," Diana added.

"Moot point." Akko raised an eyebrow. "My attention span was never anything to be jealous of."

"You don't seem to enjoy anything anymore."

A frown tugged at the corner of Akko's lips. "I do _enjoy_ things," she said, finding herself growing irritated. "I just have a harder time feeling like doing anything, that's all."

"You're not happy."

"I'm not _un_ happy."

"You're not—"

"Look," Akko heard herself say. "I get it. Enough. Unless there are some other things about me that you'd like to complain about?"

Diana pursed her lips. "Akko, thats's not-"

"Not what?" Akko felt her voice rising as she sat up straighter in her chair, red heat rising into the tips of her ears. "I get it. I'm not the same. Did it ever occur to you that _I_ don't want this either, that maybe _I'm_ trying to fix myself, too? Why do you think I'm doing all this stuff? Kore wa orokadesu. Watashi wa sore ga kiraidesu!"

Diana felt herself flinch back at Akko's slip into her first language. She really only did that on two occasions: excitement and anger. And Akko was most _certainly_ not excited.

"Akko, please lower your volume," Diana whispered. She could feel her blood running hot, her heart rate taking flight in her chest.

But Akko was hardly listening. Her fingers twitched as she shoved her chair backwards and rose. "If you don't like me anymore, what's even the point?"

"That's utterly ridiculous," Diana argued, forcing her voice to stay calm and level. "Akko, I _do_ like you. I _love_ you. I just want to see you get better."

"You're doing it for yourself," Akko growled. "I don't fit into Diana Cavendish's perfect world of perfect people, and you can't deal with that so you're just sticking your fingers where they don't belong. Have you ever considered that maybe you _don't_ have the answer for everything, or is that too far-fetched for a Cavendish to believe?"

Diana's white-blonde eyebrows scrunched together, blue eyes glossing over as she stared directly into the other girl's face while she dished insults. _It's not Akko_ , she told herself, swallowing hard. _It's not Akko, this isn't her._

"Forget it." Akko waved her hands in front of her and whirled on her heel. "Enjoy your research. I'll go sit in my room and think about how I can meet your expectations."

She could have reached out for Akko, who stalked away in a slew of Japanese that made other students lift their heads. She could have told her to stop, tried to argue her point, maybe tried to reach the girl inside with some sense of her intentions. But she also knew it wouldn't work. No, Akko would simply get herself more and more worked up the longer the discussion went on. It'd become typical, almost expected when she let herself get angry. She would just argue until she was red in the face, until she hit a boiling point, until she lost it. That was the last thing Diana needed. Especially in public.

Akko's mug of tea sat forgotten across from her. Diana pushed her own away, unwilling to taste the pain of the whole encounter any longer. She dropped her forehead against the pads of her fingers, gently massaging the growing tension in her temples as she took deep breaths, willing the tingling of her nerves to end. She brought her fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose, pressing into the inside corners of her eyes to force back tears that were threatening to build.

It wasn't Akko. No, it most certainly wasn't Akko.

That didn't mean it didn't still _hurt_.

* * *

Diana wouldn't look at her.

Akko had tried on numerous occasions just to meet the other girl's eyes, to catch her attention in the halls, in class, and now the cafeteria as she tried to gain some semblance of Diana's mood. But, each time, she found those bright blue hues looking away.

It had been days since they'd spoken and Akko's anxiety was bubbling from beneath her skin in painful waves.

"She hates me," Akko moaned as she buried her red face in her hands, ignoring the untouched lunch that sat in front of her. "I'm so stupid. I messed everything up."

"She doesn't hate you, Akko," Lotte said, placing a comforting hand on her roommate's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "I'm sure everything is fine. Why don't you just go apologize?"

"You are pretty dumb," Sucy drawled from across the table. "But Diana is also pretty forgiving."

"I don't even know what to _say_ ," Akko grumbled, letting her hands fall as she stared down at the flaky looking mashed potatoes and questionable brown gravy on her plate. "Sorry I yelled at you for caring? That's not going to work. I _blew_ it."

"Hey, what's up?" Amanda said, sliding into her usual seat and dropping her tray with a reckless clatter. Jasminka and Constanze slid in on either side: Jasminka immediately digging into her blueberry pastry (" _You always have to eat the dessert first in case you run out of room!_ ") and Constanze completely engulfed with studying a massive blueprint that she slowly unfolded.

"Akko thinks Diana hates her," Sucy stated plainly, scooping a large forkful of mashed potatoes in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "I think she's lost her grip on reality."

"Aw, that's ridiculous," Amanda muttered. She ripped her roll in half with her hands and began slathering an impossible amount of butter across the bread before taking a large bite. "She could never hate you," she said between chews. "What happened?"

"Stupidity," Akko replied, letting her head fall back as she huffed loudly. "That's what happened. I'm such an idiot."

"Would you please stop being self-deprecating," came the familiar, distinguished voice of Diana behind her, "And come take a walk with me instead?"

"Eh?" Akko straightened in her chair and whirled, red-faced, to find the poised British witch standing at the back of her chair with her arms folded neatly over her chest. She hadn't even seen Diana get up from her own table with Hannah and Barbara, though in all honesty she was busy reflecting on the silent treatment of the past few days. "Diana?"

"Last time I checked," Diana replied. She sounded neither angry or amused. "Shall we?" She lifted an arm and made a motion to the great doors that led to the cafeteria vestibule.

"Go, you idiot," Sucy mumbled through another mouthful of potatoes.

Akko stumbled to her feet and, blushing furiously, followed the long stride of the other girl through the massive doors and into the bright afternoon sun. It was another warm day, to Akko's relief, and she felt completely comfortable in just her school vest. If only she could _enjoy_ it—she was too busy quickening her pace to keep up with the taller girl and letting her mind wander over Diana's sudden desire to speak to her.

Diana finally came to a stop on one of the small bridges that overlooked the gently running stream that ran through the middle of the school grounds. Akko could see a few large, brightly colored Koi swimming lazily through the clear water, enthusiastically speeding up and gathering beneath the witches and the prospect of food. Diana broke apart a piece of bread that Akko hadn't seen in her hand and tossed it down to the excited fish.

Her sleeves were rolled up. Akko could see the soft, white-blonde hair of her arms, the constellation of barely-there freckles scattered near her elbows.

"I'm sorry," Akko said after a long, tense moment, leaning against the railing of the bridge and gazing up at Diana's expressionless face. "About the other day. Obviously. I'm really sorry."

"I know you are," Diana sighed, ripping off another small piece of bread and rolling it in her palm before dropping it to a waiting calico Koi.

"Are you..." Akko hesitated, already feeling the tears starting to threaten the stoic gaze she was trying to force. "Are you going to break up with me?"

"That's absurd," Diana said quickly, raising an eyebrow as she finally turned ice blue eyes to meet red. "Why would I ever do that?"

Akko frowned, letting her eyes fall to the stream, to the water that swirled between the moving bodies of the colorful fish, to the slow ripples that brought life to the usually still surface. "Because I'm a bakayarou," she moaned, lowering her head, her fringe tickling her eyes.

"Language," Diana scolded, knowing full well some of the many Japanese swears from dating a girl that could get quite colorful at times. "And you are not." She let silence fall between them for a minute before adding, "I just... hope that you didn't mean any of it."

"I know you just want to help," Akko resigned with a sigh, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt the smooth skin of Diana's arm brush against her own. She tensed her jaw, feeling the guilt tingling behind her eyelids. "I'm sorry." She opened her eyes and met Diana's kind gaze once more. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Diana reached forward and brushed Akko's fringe from her eyes. "I loved you before and I love you the same now. I just... want to see you healthy. That's all."

"I know," Akko replied. She felt her breath hitch and swiped away a rogue tear that sought freedom down her cheek. Without another thought, she threw her arms around Diana and squeezed hard, feeling the other girl tense beneath her at the sudden onslaught of affection. She buried her face into Diana's shoulder, against the soft fabric of her vest.

"I—um-" Diana glanced around the vestibule. The only other students were a team of first-year witches who were heavily engaged in their own outdoor picnic quite a ways away. With a great deal of mental effort, Diana delicately wrapped her arms around Akko and hugged her back, wary of the possibility of a soiled uniform, though deciding it was nothing a simple spell couldn't fix. Luckily, though, the other girl lifted her head, her arms loosening their tight grasp on Diana's torso.

Public affection was very much not on Diana's list of approved behaviors. Especially so close to the school itself. Especially within the line of sight of others. The most she allowed was the occasional, brief squeeze of a hand, or a small affectionate gesture that lasted no more than a fleeting moment.

"Can I-" Akko's raised a hand and let her fingers dance affectionately across Diana's jaw. "Can I kiss you? Maybe?"

Diana hesitated once more. The first-years were not at all engaged with their surroundings, even much less so with the two witches standing on the bridge. With a relenting sigh, she heard herself say, "I suppose that would be alright."

Even though it was Akko who asked, and even though it was something she reluctantly allowed, she found herself leaning in just as enthusiastically. She felt Akko's soft, warm lips clash with her own and let her body sigh into the kiss. Though brief, the momentary share of affection felt like an entire, unspoken conversation.

"Thank you," Akko whispered as she pulled back and slowly dropped her arms. She could hear the Koi still splashing about below them, still hopeful for Diana to throw more bread.

"You're—you're welcome?" Diana replied with a small, content chuckle. She gave the other girl's hand a gentle squeeze with her fingers before letting it go completely. "Akko, could I please ask one small thing of you?"

Akko's smirk faltered. "I... I guess so. What's that?"

"For the love of the Nine, could you _please_ stop thanking me for kissing you?"

* * *

The halls were so dark that Diana was forced to walk at a slower pace than natural, fearful for catching a heel on uneven stone or running into a statue that a goblin had perhaps moved for cleaning purposes. She kept her eyes trained in front of her, hardly focusing on the turns she took or the staircases she descended. No, she knew the way like the back of her hand. She was more timid of the possibility of being caught out of bed past curfew.

Though, in all honesty, being Diana Cavendish, she likely would have gotten away with it.

She reached into the pocket of her vest to once more make sure the heavy master key had been placed within. It had been trusted with her along with her late-night monitor duties and the tutoring sessions that she taught behind locked classrooms, and the gravity of using it to break into the Headmistress's office, not to mention _steal_ one of her possessions, was not lost on Diana. The stress headache that had developed earlier in the day still pulled at her temples.

But she'd already made up her mind. She knew it would bring a lot of suspicion to just _ask_ for an ancient, mysterious artifact. Besides, she planned on having it back in a reasonable time. She doubted Headmistress Holbrooke would even notice the plain lantern from the library she brought to use as a decoy for the time being.

It wasn't quite stealing if it was going to be returned, right? That was the only way Diana could keep herself from backing out of her own plans.

Besides, it was for _Akko_. Akko had done plenty of troublesome things before and not only saved Luna Nova, but the entire world of magic itself. It was merely repayment for good deeds.

She carefully slid the key into the lock of the Headmistress's office and turned it, careful to make as little noise as possible, before pushing her way inside.

The only noise in the room was the gentle ticking of a small, antique clock that sat on the Headmistress's desk, each echoing second lamenting the possibility of being caught. The green lamp in the corner remained on, casting a soothing green glow around the rest of the office. White moonlight that managed to filter through thick clouds that had taken residence in the sky cast waves of swaying light across the floor and walls.

She glanced at a shelf, at a hand-carved wooden Ouija board that was said to hold the spirit of William Fuld himself, and felt herself flinch at a shift in the shadows until she realized it was her own.

With a deep breath, she let the door fall gently shut behind her and stepped slowly toward the lantern.

The light from the green lamp hit it in a way that made the triangular pattern of the lid seem to dance, to wave tauntingly against its bronze housing. The moonlight glistened off the dirty glass case, shifting with her own eerie, distorted figure as she moved closer.

With a deep breath, Diana reached forward, her decoy lantern hanging in her other hand in readiness for its duty.

Without prompt, the chain of the Lumi _è_ re slid from the top of the handle and clanged loudly against its side. Diana jumped back, slamming her hand over her own mouth to stifle a surprised shriek, and watched as the chain began to gently sway, scraping hauntingly against the wood of the side table. She quickly shot a glance at the door of the office, freezing with her own heavy breaths echoing in her head as she listened for footsteps.

But nothing came. She was safe.

She turned back to the lamp and swallowed hard. She had just disturbed it. That was all, right? Maybe her footsteps simply jarred the table. She lowered her hand and rolled her shoulders to shake off the sudden fright, inhaling sharply through her nose.  
Once more, she stretched her a gently quivering hand to the lantern. But when her hand fell on the dusty bronze lid, she was surprised to find that it was... warm. Almost _hot_ , like it had been sitting near a fire.

With a sudden flash of brilliant orange light, the flame within the lantern flared to life. Diana felt her heart murmur with aggressive beats as she jerked her hand away, though she couldn't avert her eyes. The fire was bright, mesmerizing, dancing through and around its cage of bars, bouncing off the glass casing in audible groans that made Diana take a step backwards.

Something felt _very_ wrong.

The lid creaked open and, from it crawled a dark red spirit that looked much like the ones Diana had seen Lotte summon from other ancient items. Its small body wavered and pulsed with energy, growing with each loud crack of the growing flame below it. The lid finally clanged all the way open and the spirit rose to a stand, its limbs falling around its body as its eyeless gaze fell on the frozen witch. Diana could feel the freezing hand of fear gripping her heart.

In one great bound, the spirit sprung from the lantern.

The last thing she saw was a flash of red, red like the glimmering irises of Akko's eyes, before everything went dark.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Akko!"

Akko grunted in her sleep and burrowed her face further into her warm pillow, squeezing her eyes tight as the distant voice resounded in her head.

"Akko, get _up_!"

The Japanese witch groaned loudly, rolling onto her back and blinking her eyes sleepily open to find a very blurry Lotte within inches of her own face. She could feel the girl's hand on her shoulder, still shaking her roughly in an attempt to rouse her from sleep.

"What?" Akko moaned. The main light of the room was on, but Akko could still see the moonlight shifting behind the curtains of their window. It was still night—there was no way she had overslept or missed anything. "What do you want?"

For the first time, she could make out the images of two members of the Blue Team in the doorway. Barbara was pressed up against the wooden frame, knuckles white as her eyes fell, flickering with worry and fear, on Akko. Hannah gripped her roommate tight, fingers clenched around the sleeve of the other girl's shirt. The effects of her sleep potion made everything sway uncomfortably and she struggled to blink it away.

Sucy, in her own bed, was sitting up and rubbing sleep out of her own eyes as she pulled her ear plugs out and let them fall to the sheets.

"What's going on?" Akko mumbled again. "What time is it?"

"It's—it's Diana," Barbara stuttered from the doorway, dark eyebrows knitting together. Her breath came heavy, as though she'd run the entire way from the Blue Team's room to their own. "She's in the hospital ward."

" _What_?"

Any remnant of exhaustion fell away like a curtain of shattering ice as Akko shot up in the bed, sending a startled Lotte tumbling backwards in surprise. Her forehead slammed against one of the wood panels of the bunk above her and she grimaced, grabbing her head as pain ricocheted throughout, and frowned back at the two girls. "What do you mean? What happened?" She could feel her heart lurch in her chest, fire and ice coursing through her blood at the very idea of Diana being hurt.

Was she dreaming? Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe the dream suppressant was bad and one had slipped through.

But, no, this seemed _very_ real.

"We don't know," Hannah cried. "She's—she's—she won't wake up. Professor Finnelan came and got us. No one knows what-"

Akko didn't wait to hear the rest of the red-haired girl's sentence. In a flash, her sheets and Shiny Chariot comforter were flung from her body and she was sprinting, barefoot in her sleep shorts and an old Marvel t-shirt, by the surprised girls and down the hall.

 _Diana's hurt_.

She could feel the cold stone beneath the balls of her feet, the chill of the old building nipping through her thin garments. Her leg muscles wobbled with the sudden shock from sleep. As it wasn't first light yet, she would likely get in trouble if she was caught out of bed in the middle of the night in sleep clothing, though the thought didn't register. She bolted by goblins and minotaurs that were still in the first stages of waking up as they moved through the hallway to begin their work shifts, each sending the young witch a curious look as she fled by.

"Move!" she yelled as she unceremoniously pushed off a surprised goblin as she rounded the corner of the North Hallway. She'd apologize for her rude behavior later, if she could tell him apart from the others, that was.

For now, all that mattered was Diana.

Her breath came in wavering pants as she slammed open the door to the clinic and stormed in, ignoring the anxious pleas from Madam Wong shouting, "Miss Kagari, please don't-" and instead bursting into the back, red eyes desperately scanning the lines of empty sterile beds until her gaze fell upon the single area that was shrouded by a navy blue curtain.

"Miss Kagari, I insist you wait!" Madam Wong was yelling as she made a futile grab at Akko's arm.

"Diana," Akko heard herself say. She lurched forward, snagging the curtain and ripping it carelessly to the side as she stumbled to the side of the bed within.

Diana lay still on her back, her hands motionless at her sides, her eyelids shut so gently that Akko would have thought she was just sleeping. Cascades of blonde and tea-green hair spilled around her pale face, spread across the starched pillow and sheets in soft waves. Akko's hand fell to the girl's warm cheek, which she cupped gently as she let her upper body crumple and hover over the other girl.

"What happened?" Akko pleaded, whirling to find Madam Wong, who looked _extremely_ disgruntled—not to mention tired, if the dark bags beneath her eyes had anything to say about it. For the first time, she registered the presence of a very startled Headmistress Holbrooke, who was seated at the other side of Diana with one hand resting on the edge of the bed near her shoulder.

"Miss Kagari, you should not be out of bed at this hour," Headmistress Holbrooke scolded, rising to her feet and looming large over Akko despite being a full head shorter. "I assure you that there is nothing here that could not wait for an appropriate hour."

Akko could hear the door to the clinic slam once again and, moments later, Hannah and Barbara were panting, out of breath and bending over themselves, at Akko's side.

"Professor Finnelan-" Hannah wheezed. Her eyes settled on the still body of Diana and she pushed forward. "Professor Finnelan said she wouldn't wake up."

"Girls," Headmistress Holbrooke scolded, flicking a glance to Madam Wong. "I would strongly urge you to wait in your rooms. Madam Wong is doing all she can at the moment."

Madam Wong took a step forward, inhaling sharply as her eyes passed over the Headmistress, Diana, and the three panicking girls before her. "It's alright, Headmistress," she said quietly, as though this type of thing happened all the time—and maybe it did, Akko didn't know. "I can understand their distress. Girls, if the Headmistress allows it, I will allow you to stay. But please, do keep out of my way. I am administering care to the best of my knowledge."

Which, from what Akko could tell, was very little.

Headmistress Holbrooke sighed heavily, green eyes passing over the three witches from behind the thin lenses of her glasses, before offering a small nod. "If I hear you are interfering, I will have you removed immediately," she warned, taking a thick book from the side table and tucking it beneath her arm. "Miss Kagari, with me, please."

"Wait, what-" Akko murmured, eyes fleeting over Diana's body before returning to the older woman. "Why-"

"I said, with _me_ , please," Headmistress Holbrooke repeated, this time with a tone that clearly stated that there would be no further comments. Without looking back, she shoved the curtain aside and strode away.

Akko stole one more glance at Diana, at the still girl whose breath came slow, quiet, almost peaceful waves, and felt her breath hitch. She _looked_ fine. There were no blemishes, no aura of pain or danger, and yet... Akko could feel it. Or, better yet, _couldn't_ feel it.

Her finger swiped over the girl's pale cheek and she swallowed hard at the painful emptiness of the touch. Akko could feel her own magic, throbbing at the tips of her fingers in an attempt to delve into the comfortable familiarity of Diana's, but there was nothing.

The magic they shared was simply not there. Diana's magic was simply _not there_.

Akko let her hand fall away and, with a hard swallow and a throbbing ache in her chest, turned to follow the Headmistress.

* * *

All Akko wanted to do was to return to Diana's side, to be there for when the girl inevitably woke up. Sure, she had Hannah and Barbara, but the memory of waking to Diana last time _she_ was in the hospital was at the forefront of her mind.

Diana had to be alright... right?

After all, she didn't _look_ hurt.

As Akko padded through the halls behind Headmistress Holbrooke, she realized her mistake in not at least thinking to grab a sweater or put on shoes, first. Her bare feet cringed with each meeting of the cold floor, goosebumps spreading across the skin of her arms and chest. She shrank into her t-shirt, folding her arms over her chest in an attempt to warm herself and, well... hide the fact she wasn't wearing a bra. She felt a shiver pass over her body.

"This is where we found Miss Cavendish," Headmistress Holbrooke stated in a very matter-of-fact way as she opened the door to her office and gestured for Akko to enter. All the lights were on, but the back corner of the room was an absolute wreck. Books had flown from shelves to litter the ground, some open and leaning against crumpled pages. A green lamp had been pulled onto its side, the lampshade askew and torn in one place. An old metal lantern, one that looked like those that were on the tables in the library, rested on its side on a pile of books.

Akko blinked. "What?" she asked, eyes narrowing as she stepped forward. They'd found Diana in the Headmistress's office? The didn't make any sense.

The Headmistress made a ticking nose with her tongue and shook her head, striding over to her desk and peering at the books and miscellaneous items that littered the floor. After a moment, she turned to face the surprised Japanese witch who had taken the appearance of a timid child rather than a late teen.

"Miss Kagari, what do you know of Miss Cavendish's intentions?"

Akko just stared, eyebrows furrowed as her fingers toyed with the baggy sleeves of her t-shirt. She found it unlikely that Diana would be out of bed after hours, and even _more_ unlikely that she would break into the Headmistress's private office. "I don't understand," she replied, unable to take her eyes off the scene of absolute chaos. "Why would I know?"

Headmistress Holbrooke sighed, reaching down to begin plucking up books that had been spilled in whatever it was happened to Diana. "If you are unaware, Miss Kagari, I am privy to all the information in this school. Be it grades, team efforts, or-" she turned, leveling a gaze with Akko, "-health records."

Was she referring to Akko's own ailment? And what did that have to do with what happened to Diana? Akko blinked, squeezing the skin of her biceps against her hands as she watched the small woman cleaning the mess. She knew she should offer to help, but the anxiety wracking her nerves was making her shake, her blood was running cold through her body. All she wanted to do was turn and run back to Diana. She didn't want to be in the Headmistress's office having some cryptic conversation that made absolutely no sense.

"It seems as though Miss Cavendish was trying to acquire a specific item," the Headmistress added, her voice fading to a degree where Akko had to move closer to hear her. "What do you know about the Lumi _è_ re de l'esprit, Miss Kagari?"

"The lumi-what?" Akko asked, feeling her eyes widen as the Headmistress gestured to a very ominous looking lantern that lie on its side on a wooden table. She had never seen anything like _that_ before, nor would she even want to touch it. It looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

"The Lumi _è_ re de l'esprit is an ancient magical artifact that was once used to remove mental and behavioral maladies from magical patients," came a familiar voice from behind her. "I believe this is contained in a topic that is not currently in Akko's curriculum, nor available as a topic in our current library records."

Akko turned to find Professor Ursula, rather awake despite the hour, striding into the room with an air of momentary confidence that faded rapidly when the Headmistress's eyes fell upon her. "I—um—I heard what happened. I'm somewhat familiar with that artifact."

The Headmistress looked confused and slightly perturbed. She removed her hat and ran a hand through her tousled white hair, narrowing her eyes at the blue-haired Professor. "Professor Ursula. I wasn't aware that Professor Finnelan had woken you, as well."

"She didn't," Professor Ursula stated, coming to a stop beside Akko and placing her hands on the bony shoulder of the bewildered student. She frowned, adjusting her glasses on her nose and staring at the ground as she said, "Alcor informed me of a dark presence."

Alcor? Her familiar? A dark presence? Akko's red eyes glistened with fear as she blinked back and forth from the Headmistress to the Professor. "Can someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" she whimpered, feeling the urge to turn and run, to escape from the confusing and frightening situation that had overtaken her reality and reach Diana. Maybe the other girl would be awake, maybe it was all a fluke. She clenched her hands into fists and sucked in air, squeezing her eyes shut. All she wanted to do was be with Diana. Was that too much to ask?

Headmistress Holbrooke took a deep breath, lips settling into a thin line. "Miss Cavendish attempted to-"

But she never finished her sentence. Instead, Professor Ursula took a bold step forward, gaze catching Akko's before settling on the smaller woman across the room.

"Headmistress. I—I think she's been cursed."

* * *

Cursed. By what, exactly?

Professor Ursula's words lingered in Akko's mind, coursing through her mind like deadly wildfire. Her teeth clenched and rolled, jaw muscles tensing beneath her cheeks as she knelt over the peacefully still body of the girl she loved.

Hannah and Barbara had left for breakfast long ago with the rest of the Red Team, promising to bring Akko something after. Though, if Akko was being honest, she was anything but hungry. It was impossible to think about her stomach when Diana absolutely _refused_ to open her eyes.

And not for lack of trying. Akko had been convinced that maybe Diana had just fainted, maybe she hit her head and had a concussion—after all, Akko had given herself a few of those, she knew the urge to sleep after—but the gravity of the situation was settling over her like smoke and ashes. She'd shaken the girl's shoulder, spoken to her loudly, even kissed her dry and motionless lips in a desperate hope that maybe it was like some stupid fairy tale.

She'd even found herself pinching her _own_ skin to try to wake herself up.

Akko's fingers traced over the soft skin of the other girl's forehead, gently pushing away a few wayward strands of blonde hair as she watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest beneath her hospital gown. Madam Wong had said that she was stable, that there was nothing outwardly wrong that showed any sign of pain or distress.

Diana just... wouldn't wake up.

What kind of curse was _that_?

After tossing her theory into the unsettling quiet of Headmistress Holbrooke's office, Professor Ursula had dashed from the room with a quick mumble of, "I've got to consult Croix!", leaving Akko in a complete state of disarray and the Headmistress more concerned than the young witch had ever seen her. It was as though the woman had suddenly realized the connection between the artifact she was wildly gesticulating over and Diana's current state—weren't older witches supposed to be the smart ones?-and had taken in exactly how serious everything was all at once.

What bothered Akko the most was that Professor Ursula had mentioned that the Lumi-whatever had a connection with mental illness. That it was able to draw the affliction out, to cure the target.

With a heavy gulp of her rapidly pooling saliva, Akko remembered the library. The books that Diana had surrounded herself with, the proclamation from the British witch herself that she was researching how to help. Akko had thought she had been referring to some kind of treatment, some kind of therapy, not a magical artifact that even _Akko_ knew couldn't have been everything it seemed.

Akko squeezed her eyes shut as she felt guilt wash over her like a wet blanket. She tightened her grip on the limp fingers she held in one hand, cupping Diana's cheek with the other. The other girl's pale lips were slightly parted, gentle breaths slipping through in a warm puff of hair. Akko let her thumb trace over Diana's bottom lip, letting her forehead fall onto the girl's warm bicep.

Diana had tried to do this for _her_. That meant it was Akko's fault.

After all, she wouldn't have done it otherwise. Everything about it was so uncharacteristically Diana.

"Wake up," Akko pleaded, letting her head drop to the side as she gazed up at the lips that twitched against her finger. "Please, Diana."

She _needed_ her to wake up. She _needed_ her to be okay. As soon as the other girl opened her eyes, Akko would first tell her that she loved her and then scold her—in a manner that was less her style and more the Cavendish's—for doing something so stupid and reckless.

"Please," Akko begged again, feeling warm tears begin to tickle the corners of her eyes, her breath hitching at the lack of response.

"Please, wake up."

* * *

"Akko."

Diana choked on the name that fell from the back of her throat, dry lips parting as it simply tumbled into fruition in a series of guttural wheezes. She could feel her hair clinging to her temples in a sheen of sweat, her own fingertips scraping against wet palms. Her legs swayed beneath the weight of her body, threatening to give out with each passing second as the fog in her mind slowly cleared.

She could hear something in the back of her mind, almost like a loud moaning, like a muted conversation hidden behind closed doors. Her muscles wavered once more and before she knew it she had fallen to her knees, which struck something surprisingly soft and forgiving.

The garbled mumbling continued until she could finally make out one word:

"Diana!"

Diana felt herself gasping for air, one closed fist retreating over her heart, the other falling against the soft surface to steady herself as her vision slowly cleared, the hazy outlines of her surrounding taking shape at last. She found herself kneeling on an ornate blue Oriental rug, one hand still stretched forward to the mahogany side table that she had been leaning toward.

She had been in the very simple act of turning out the bedside lamp—but that felt like _ages_ ago. The light had fallen and shattered against the hardwood floor that stretched into the soft carpet, large and small pieces of ceramic littering the ground, the bulb itself still intact in its home beneath a bent lampshade. It had fallen... but how?

And what _time_ was it?

"Diana!" The shout came again, closer this time. " _Mum_ _! Dad!_ "

The overhead light of her room flicked on and strong hands closed over her shoulders, squeezing in a way that showed both concern and control. The looming comfort of familiarity seemed to ground her completely, and she finally felt her mind settle back into reality.

"Diana, are you alright?"

She swallowed heavily, barely able to manage a small nod. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before turning to meet the worried blue eyes of her brother.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Oof! I feel like I should have gotten this out sooner, I'm so sorry. I haven't had much time/felt like writing in the past couple of days. Started working on my back piece and sitting against the chair isn't that comfortable (and it iiitttchhesss), plus Friendsgiving! and getting caught up reading other fics. Which, by the way, I know I'm like a year late to the party, but _Little Pokemon Academia_ is everything I never knew I needed-thanks for the ridiculous wave of emotions, Pikawut.

Plus, this fic is actually taking a bit more research than I anticipated at this point. Worth it. Kudos to all the British friends I've been throwing stupid questions at, like whether or not their floors have carpet.

Also, I'm going to go ahead and give the disclaimer that for a little while now, there won't be any fluff. Which is totally the reason we're all here, right? In consideration of that, I decided that I'm going to be doing little "intermissions" between every few chapters where there will be _nothing but fluff_ (I gotchu, 1mrhyde). If you have a suggestion on what kind of interaction you want to see between these two, reach out on Tumblr (thespectralbones) or (more reliably) Discord lux#7300. I will very happily write what you want to read to the best of my abilities.

With that said... uh, be back soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Damien," Diana choked out. She felt her muscles slowly responding to her desperate plea to still her own trembling body. She practiced the breathing that she had learned in therapy for the difficult moments that followed an attack, taking shaky breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. In, one-two-three. Out, one-two-three. Repeat as necessary.

Diana felt Damien carefully lifting her from the floor. His normally slicked back blonde hair was disheveled from the headset he'd been wearing from where he'd likely been in his room gaming. Dark blue eyes burned into her own, flickering with worry as he helped her to her feet and brought her to rest on the edge of her bed.

He held her arm out—Diana would be upset if she got blood on her comforter, she was the pinnacle of cleanliness and tidiness—and pulled a tissue from the nightstand. He gently pressed it against the cut and moved his sister's fingers to clench her own fist and apply pressure. It wasn't a bad cut, at all, but he was hoping the small act would at least provide some comfort.

"It's okay," he assured, offering a weak smile which somehow managed to look almost wolfish. "Just breathe, alright?"

It had been years since she'd visited the Other World—that's what her parents called it—and the hallucination had taken her unexpectedly. She glanced at the bright red digits of the alarm clock on the table. 1:08. An hour had passed since she'd reached for her lamp to turn it off. She'd been up late to finish an assignment (last minute, of course) for Chemistry. Later than usual, sure, and maybe she was a little stressed and more than a little exhausted, but the strict dosage of Seroquel and Lamictal had kept the hallucinations quelled for so long that she honestly thought they would never happen again. She could still feel the waves of residual energy pulsing through her body.

"Diana, honey, are you alright?"

Bernadette appeared in the doorway, still dressed in the scrubs that she'd fallen asleep in. Immediately, Diana felt horrible. Her mother had just returned from a 16 hour shift at the hospital and had nearly stumbled to the bedroom with barely a word to the rest of the family. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was still pulled back into a very messy bun, pushed to the side from where she'd fallen against her pillow.

Behind her, her father appeared in his old flannel pajamas, his blonde hair just as disheveled, dark bags doing nothing to hide his exhaustion. He rested against the doorframe, frowning at the scene in the room.

"I'll clean this up," Damien murmured, offering a final squeeze to his sister's shoulder before rushing from the room.

"It—it happened again," Diana finally stammered, meeting her mother's inquiring gaze. She felt ashamed, embarrassed, even though she knew that she couldn't help it—she had _never_ been able to help it. The Other World was an intrusive part of her life, nothing bad, really, though the years of reprieve and living life like an almost-normal teenager had been so welcome.

"Oh, Diana," Bernadette murmured. She sat next to her daughter and closed her arms around the girl's torso, pulling her in close. "It's okay. I'll make an arrangement with Dr. Wong this week. I'm sure she can get you in quickly." She had always known that Diana would likely be plagued with hallucinations once she reached her late teens and twenties, just as the psychiatrist had warned, though she had allowed herself to get her hopes up.

Diana could only nod weakly, vaguely aware of her brother re-entering the room and gently sweeping the broken remnants of her lamp into a dustpan. In the doorway, her father nodded, offering a reassuring smile. David was used to the hallucinations, the drawings that Diana would sometimes etch across a freshly painted wall in her nearly comatose state, the strange Latin words and unrecognizable names that used to leave her mouth on a nearly weekly basis, daily at its worst. It was nothing new, nothing they hadn't gotten through before, and nothing they couldn't conquer again.

"You look knackered," Damien said quietly, carefully holding the dustpan to the side as he brushed Diana's thick blonde hair out of her eyes and smiled. "Why don't you get some sleep, sis? Everything will be just fine in the morning."

Diana forced her own smile. She was lucky to have such a supportive family, one that held nothing against her, one that didn't ask prying questions or demand answers she couldn't give. That was the job of Dr. Wong. She was simply the unfortunate vessel caught in the middle of an illness she had only recently begun to harness.

"I've got it from here," her mother said, smiling at both Damien and David. As the two left, she helped her tired daughter beneath her sheets and carefully tucked her in. The girl was like a ragdoll—like every other hallucination before, it had left her physical body nearly drained of all energy, and she could feel Diana fighting off sleep just trying to get settled in.

"I love you, Diana," Bernadette said, kissing Diana's clammy forehead and gently running her fingers through her wild hair. "We'll get everything sorted."

Bernadette had risen and was just about to leave, her fingers falling on the light switch, when Diana's sleep-laced voice drew her back in.

"Mum?"

Bernadette turned, smiling sadly at the beautiful face of her daughter. The moonlight draped a warm light across her pale skin, casting shadows over her bright blue eyes. "Diana?"

"Will you…" her voice trailed off as she felt her heavy eyelids taking control.

But she didn't need to finish anyway. Bernadette already knew. She slid beneath the covers of her daughter's bed and pulled the thin body into a firm hug. Though it had been years, Diana had always asked her mother to stay with her following a visit to the Other World—it was as if her her touch brought her closer to reality, closer to the life that her mind was so often trying to flee from.

In the comfort of her loving mother's arms, Diana finally let herself relax into sleep.

* * *

" _Down by the river, under the trees, love waits for me_

 _to walk from the journeying years of my time and arrive._

 _I part the leaves and they toss me a blessing of rain._

 _The river stirs and turns consoling and fondling itself_

 _with watery hands, its clear limbs parting and closing._

 _Grey as a secret, the heron bows its head on the bank._

 _I drop my past on the grass and open my arms, which ache_

 _as though they held up this heavy sky, or had pressed_

 _against window glass all night as my eyes sieved the stars;_

 _open my mouth, wordless at last meeting love at last, dry_

 _from traveling so long, shy of a prayer. You step from the shade,_

 _and I feel love come to my arms and cover my mouth, feel_

 _my soul swoop and ease itself into my skin, like a bird_

 _threading a river. Then I can look love full in the face, see_

 _who you are I have come this far to find, the love of my life._ "

As Hannah England finished reading the poem with dramatic flair, she offered a confident smile to Miss Finnelan before smoothing her shirt and taking her seat. Diana simply stared, entranced by the confident red-head and the gentle lull of her voice as she read the poem that she herself had most _certainly_ forgotten to read. She gazed down at the book of poetry spread on the desk before her, quietly re-reading each stanza, her lips moving silently.

"Miss Cavendish," she heard Miss Finnelan call from where she stood at the front of the classroom with the small book of poetry open in her palm. "Tell us about the first stanza."

"Uh—" Diana hesitated, quickly scanning the first three lines of the poem as she pushed her fingertips into the messy blonde hair that she'd hadn't had time to tame that morning. She'd been absolutely _exhausted_ and had even had to fight her mother just to let her go to school—after all, her Chemistry report was due and she'd already submitted a late assignment that was haunting her overall grade. "It's about romance," she said at last.

" _Obviously_ ," Barbara Parker said with a snicker from where she sat at Hannah's side. Diana glanced up to see the black-haired girl elbow her friend gently in the ribs before whispering something into her ear and the two laughed, sharing some joke that was most certainly at her expense.

"Girls," Miss Finnelan scolded, cutting the two students a glare from behind her glasses before returning her attention to the uncertain blonde. She cleared her throat. " _I part the leaves and they toss me a blessing of rain_ ," she read. "What is your analysis of this line, Miss Cavendish?"

Diana swallowed, pulling her tired eyes back down to the poem and tensing her jaw. English Literature was arguably one of her worst classes and poetry was likely the weakest aspect of that. She struggled to make sense of convoluted metaphors and cryptic imagery. "I'm… not sure," she said at last, squinting her eyes and sighing heavily.

"It's a reference to a rejuvenation," Andrew said from behind her. Diana whirled in her chair, watching her friend toss her a reassuring smile before continuing. "The first stanza is the author's portrayal of finally finding love and a new life at the end of a journey."

Miss Finnelan offered a curt nod. "A good assessment, Mr. Hanbridge," she stated, giving Diana a small smile. "Remember, Miss Cavendish, there is no wrong answer, though there is always author's intent. Poetry is subjective to the audience."

That was exactly what Diana didn't like about it. She wanted the proven facts of scientific research, things she could memorize and actually apply to her future goal of following in the footsteps of her mother, her role model, to enter nursing.

"I've got your back," Andrew whispered from behind her, leaning forward with a half-smile before Diana turned back to her own desk. She didn't bother to listen to Hannah and Barbara dominating the discussion as though they knew _everything_ —that was a constant, something she preferred to tune out.

Instead, she stared down at the notebook open on her desk, where she'd been absently doodling for a majority of the class. Amateur drawings of what she imagined a wand would look like: a retractable metal rod with three prongs, the outer two curving in a half-circle around a shorter middle one. A symbol consisting of a circle with three spear-like shapes slicing through at equal distance. A crude broomstick, her straight line a little shaky (but that was okay, she figured, because witches brooms were made out of wood), with a long ribbon that dangled from where it wrapped around the bristles.

Lacing her fingers back through her thick blonde hair, she rested her temple against her palm and let her pen trace over the one name that dominated the heavily inked page.

She'd only ever shared the extent of her hallucinations with two people: Dr. Wong and her brother.

Dr. Wong had a much more objective view on the Other World. It was everything that Diana could possibly want that she didn't have in her own reality: fame, popularity, unrivaled intelligence, the ability to harness and use the impossible idea of magic, which represented the power she didn't have in real life. Her mind had created her own fairytale, Dr. Wong had told her. An entire fantasy world where Diana could be everything that she ever wanted. It was an uncommon theme among patients with a severe case of schizoaffective disorder, though one she had seen in at least a handful of other patients. It was because her symptoms began so young, at an age where her imagination was at its peak. The loss of her family, according to Dr. Wong, was simply a sacrifice that her brain had unintentionally made in the act of creating the Other World.

But, so long as she stayed on the strict regimen of anti-psychotic medication, the hallucinations would be kept to a minimum, though never completely gone. She could, eventually, lead a relatively normal life.

Damien had other ideas. It was Diana's imagination running wild, her creative side struggling to escape through the unfortunate circumstance of mental illness. "You should write a book," he had told her one night when she was 16, when Diana had told him the details she could remember from a recent hallucination—something to do with a magic missile, though she couldn't always recall everything. Her memories were more fragmented, a puzzle that she pieced together in her spare time and tried to forget in front of everyone else.

But there was one thing she didn't tell _anyone._

And that was Akko.

She admittedly remembered very little about the personality behind the name, though the simple act of tasting it on her tongue made her pulse quicken. Akko had become a common theme ever since she was 16, though her most recent attack from the prior evening had been engulfed by the person that she couldn't even seem to picture.

She squeezed her eyes shut, letting the familiar warmth wash over her body as her pen traced over one of the K's. Finnelan was droning on at the head of the classroom, something about an assignment. Andrew would tell her later. He was her best friend, somebody she could trust to have her back when just about no one else at Temple Moor did. She wasn't sure _why_ he'd stuck by her throughout the years. After all, he was athletic, handsome, and got on with just about everyone.

And Diana was arguably one of the _lowest_ ranking sixth forms on the totem pole. Ever since she'd had a hallucination at a school assembly in her 9th year, she'd been the laughing stock of the school.

"Aw, what are you up to?" Hannah purred from over Diana's shoulder. "Got a crush, Cavendish? Who's Akko?"

Diana jumped with the sudden realization that the class had been dismissed for a brief break, slamming her notebook shut and feeling a hot red blush rise to her ears.

"Don't be such a bell-end," Andrew grumbled from where he'd risen behind Diana. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and glared over at the offending girl. "Sod off, Hannah."

"Why do you defend her?" Hannah groaned, tugging at the end of her long ponytail and throwing a glance at Barbara. "She's so weird."

"You alright?" Andrew asked when they'd stalked off, pulling a chair up next to Diana and leveling her with kind green eyes. "You seem a little off today."

"Rough night," Diana replied, leaning back with a sigh and twirling her pen between her fingers. She stared at the cut that etched across her palm and frowned. "If… you know what I mean."

A sad frown tugged at the corner of Andrew's lips and he let his gaze fall. "Oh," he said. "But I thought—hasn't it been—"

"A couple years," Diana confirmed, anticipating the question before he could finish.

Andrew was the only friend that she'd ever opened up to about her illness. Though, it kind of didn't make much of a difference, considering he was her only friend _period_.

"Well, would you like to have lunch outside today? I have a free period today, so I have plenty of time." Andrew asked, gesturing to the window before adding, "Besides, the weather is rather nice. And we can talk about it… or not, whichever you prefer."

Diana nodded, offering a small smile as she tucked a thick strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She already knew that she didn't want to talk about what had happened the previous night, but she still felt like her mind was _elsewhere_ , teetering on the edge of the Other World and reality. A normal interaction would help her shrug off her own internal fantasy and the strange feelings that came with thinking about somebody that didn't even exist. No, she didn't need all that.

She needed to live her own life… the way that it was, and the way that it _should_ be.

* * *

"How is she?"

Akko swiveled in her chair to find Amanda standing behind her, arms folded firmly over her torso as her green eyes fell to where Diana lay.

"Hey," Akko murmured, turning back to the unmoving girl and giving her warm hand a squeeze. "I guess Hannah told you, huh? She's—I—I don't really know." There had been no sign of waking up the entire day. Occasionally, the other girl's lips would move gently, as though she was speaking, but no sound would come out. Madam Wong had given her an IV to keep her hydrated and hooked her up to a heart monitor, which would occasionally spike as though Diana was going _through_ something, but, for the most part, everything stayed level.

The complete radio silence was terrifying.

"Yeah, Hannah told me," Amanda admitted, before adding, "But the whole school knows at this point. Hard to keep it a secret that something's going on with the famous Diana Cavendish."

The red-haired witch stepped forward, gently placing a hand on where Diana's lower leg rose from beneath the thin sheets of the hospital bed. She sighed, studying the blonde witch's pale face, the dark half-moons that had settled beneath her closed eyes. "Would you maybe want to take a walk or something? You've been in here all day, haven't you?"

Akko nodded, letting a sigh slip through parted lips as she ran her thumb along the back of Diana's soft hand. She'd left only to change into real clothes, but even then she had run—she absolutely didn't want Diana to be alone when she woke up, and, in her opinion, Madam Wong didn't really count as someone. Sucy and Lotte had kept her company for a little bit until the nurse kicked them both out because, "So many people were getting in the way."

Akko gazed at Diana's peaceful face, red eyes falling as she nibbled at the inside of her cheek.

Sensing her hesitation, Amanda spoke up once more. "C'mon, Akko. She'll be here when you get back. You should get up and move around. Get some fresh air. It might help."

As much as she wanted to stay at Diana's side, Akko couldn't really argue. Especially when Amanda wrapped a firm hand around her bicep and gave an encouraging tug. She _did_ need to get up and walk—her backside was starting to go numb from sitting so long, and she hadn't bothered to take her potion that morning so her anxiety was making her whole body shake.

Akko rose on aching legs, leaning over to plant a gentle kiss on Diana's smooth forehead, before following her friend from the clinic.

She walked quietly at the taller girl's side as they strode through the wide hallways. She could sense the eyes of other students on her as she walked by, curious whispering between friends and Teams at her appearance. Though not everyone knew that Akko and Diana were dating, everyone was very aware that the two were incredibly close.

Amanda pushed through the main doors of Luna Nova. Though warm, the day was overcast and grey, thick clouds heavy with the promise of rain. _How fitting_ , Akko thought with a frown, letting her eyes fall to the mismatched coloring of the stone pathway.

"So," Amanda started, hesitantly side-eyeing her friend and shoving her hands into the pockets of her vest as she walked, "Does anyone know what's going on yet?"

For a moment, Akko hesitated to tell Amanda about her interaction with Headmistress Holbrooke and Professor Ursula, about the possibility of a curse and some stupid lantern that Diana had tried to get her hands on. But, instead, she found the words spilling out of her mouth before she could second guess herself. Though headstrong and nothing but a prankster within the main group, Amanda had proven that she was easy to talk to and a surprisingly good listener.

"And Madam Wong says that she's in a coma-like state," Akko finished, sucking in a sharp breath and kicking at the grass as Amanda led her to the far side of the yard, away from the prying eyes and ears of curious students. "But she just looks like she's sleeping."

Amanda raised an eyebrow, hiding the smirk that threatened the corners of her mouth. "I'm not sure you understand what a coma is," she murmured, but quickly followed it with, "She's going to be just fine, Akko. Diana can pull through anything. She's too stubborn for anything to happen to her."

Akko nodded weakly, pulling herself to a stop, the tingle of her skin feeling remarkably like something was trying to crawl out of her. Her blood ran hot, though a cold sweat still prickled at her temples. "How's, um, Hannah?" she asked, staring at her shoes, at a beetle crawling over a clump of dirt, at anything that wasn't Amanda's concerned eyes.

"She's… worried," Amanda said, rocking back onto her heels and tugging her gaze briefly to the Forest of Arcturus before returning to the Japanese witch who was visibly upset. "But we all are."

Akko folded her arms over her chest, trying to calm the quickening of her pulse, the sudden and desperate need to fill her lungs. She could feel one toe bouncing and tried to keep it still.

"Akko." Amanda narrowed her eyes, reaching forward to place one hand gently on the other girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Um, I—" Red eyes finally turned to meet green. Akko felt her eyebrows stitch together as a sob lurched to her throat. She could feel the tears already spilling forward, as if Amanda's simple inquiry had shattered the dam that held them back. Her hands clenched at her sides. "No," she wheezed, taking a shaky breath.

"Hey, hey," Amanda said, eyes widening. At first, she was uncertain how to react—Hannah was easy, she would wipe the tears away and pull the girl into her arms and hold her until she was okay again. Comforting friends was never her forte. She never knew whether to hug them, or pat their shoulder, or just awkwardly stand there and say stupid things.

But, then again, stepping up to a challenge was always something Amanda embraced. Even if that challenge was something she wasn't altogether very good at. She didn't know what Akko needed, not like Diana knew, but Diana wasn't there and, aw, hell—

Amanda pulled the smaller girl into her arms. Akko's body felt tense, rigid, like there was so much pent up anxiety that her muscles couldn't even relax. Her shoulders rolled with pained sobs beneath her firm hold.

"It's okay," Amanda reassured, letting the other girl bury her face into her own shoulder and gently rubbing her back. She could feel the wet tears soaking into the thin fabric of her blouse. "Diana will be okay. I promise."

She had _never_ seen Akko this weak, this defeated. At this point, Akko usually would've come up with some ridiculous, half thought out plan that risked not only her own life, but everyone else's around her. And yet she had nothing—it was like every ounce of that telltale confidence had drained from her body.

Amanda closed her eyes and clutched the shaking girl tight in her strong arms. "Diana will be okay," she repeated, even though she wasn't so sure herself. But it was what Akko needed to hear, what Akko needed to _believe_ , and she would say it a million times over if she had to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"That's it. Very good. Check her on the turn with that outside hand. More bend. Inside leg to outside hand. Lovely. A little more inside leg right there—yes! Alright, now ask here. Hands forward, now drive with your seat. There it is! Do you feel that?"

She _could_ feel it, the powerful stride that lifted beneath her as Luna's hooves grappled at the air in front of them in a long, reaching trot. Powerful hindquarters lurched beneath her seat, large ears swiveling forward and backward attentively as Diana pressed deep into the saddle and loosened her elbows to allow the mare more freedom of movement. The horse's entire body felt supple, concentrated, moving with the practiced ease of a professional.

"I can," she called at last, slightly out of breath when she settled back onto the rail and checked her outside rein to bring the mare back to a working trot. She rose in a slow post, rolling her inside shoulder back and collecting the stride a bit more before turning back to Miss du Nord, who stood grinning from the center of the arena. Her long red hair billowed from beneath a navy blue Tryon cap, hands buried in the long jacket she had tugged around her small frame as she watched her student.

"It looks like she's finally got it," Miss du Nord replied, watching as Diana eased the tall chestnut mare to a walk. White foam dripped from the corners of the bit as Luna's lips moved around it with acceptance, spraying against the mare's dirt-speckled chest. Her neck was dark with sweat. "Let her rest for a moment and then let's do it one more time for good measure."

Diana flashed a grin at her mother, who leaned against the rail and waved back. Sometimes, when Bernadette wasn't occupied with long shifts at the hospital, she'd take the time to come watch Diana's lessons. Which was nice. She loved to show off the progress her mare had made over time; after all, her parents had worked countless hours of overtime just to gift Diana with her lifelong dream of owning and training a horse.

And Diana would be lying if she said that wasn't where she was happiest. Luna had come to them as a thin, wily off-the-track Thoroughbred who had little to do in the way of manners and even less to do with a straight line. She had been young and tense, constantly on the verge of bursting at the seams, but all the same ready to learn and eager to please. She was hardly anything to look at, especially compared to most of the nicer Dressage horses that graced the stable and most competitions—just a regular red chestnut with an off-kilter diamond-shaped star between her eyes and a single white sock on her front right. But, over time, she'd gained weight, and in the summer her copper coat glistened with healthy dapples. She'd become a kind, quiet mare, with just enough of a flair of arrogance that kept Diana on her toes. Or, rather, her heels.

Plus, she was lucky enough to have access to one of the top Dressage instructors in eastern England. Chariot du Nord and her own mare Shiny Rod had held the 3rd position on the FEI world rankings for three years straight. They'd even claimed a gold medal for England in the 2012 Olympics, one of the youngest riders to ever boast such an accomplishment. When Diana heard she'd settled down in Leeds, her family had reached out immediately. The fee of the lessons were worth the time and care her mentor offered, were worth the rapid acceleration of both Luna's skills as well as her own.

When she was with Luna, she felt weightless beneath the burdens of her everyday life. She didn't think about her studies, about the constant plague of her mental illness, about the overwhelming struggle that was just getting through a normal day. She could lay a hand on the mare's tall withers and instantly be carefree. She could put her feet in the stirrups and hold the world in her hands. When she rode Luna, she felt like she was flying.

A rumbling snort slipped from the mare's nostrils and Diana gathered her reins back at Miss du Nord's command. With gentle pressure from her inside leg and a push of her seat, the mare lifted into a comfortable trot, neck arched prettily, red ears twitching forward. Diana smiled at the lack of weight in her hands. At one point, the mare had bared down so heavily that Diana would end every single ride with sore shoulders and blisters on her palms. Now, though, Luna was as feather-light as her own mind when they were together.

Listening carefully to her mentor's instructions and effortlessly altering pieces of her own body to provide Luna more support, she sat deep around the corner and once again let the mare fly into a floating lengthened trot across the diagonal.

"Lovely, Diana," Miss du Nord called, beaming when the girl brought the chestnut mare back down to a working trot and turned her in a wide 20 meter circle at the end of the arena. "That's enough for today. Go ahead and cool her out."

Diana nodded, puffing out a breath she'd been holding and letting the reins slip through her hands. Luna reached her nose to the ground in a deep stretch as she continued to trot in the circle. As Miss du Nord made her way to the fence to speak with her mother, Diana let her mare come back down to a walk and leaned forward, clapping her gloved hands on each side of the mare's sweaty neck and planting a kiss on her mane. Luna snorted and shook her head in response, her red mane splashing across Diana's face.

She loved Luna. Arguably, more than anything. The red chestnut mare was the best thing in her life, and Diana didn't know what she would do without her.

* * *

"How's Akko?"

Hannah opened the door to her room wider to let Amanda inside. It felt so empty in their dorm that it made her uncomfortable. With both of her roommates gone, the air was static with silence and the remaining member of the Blue Team felt a sharp pang of loneliness.

Amanda forced a small smile, stepping into the room and shoving her hands into her pockets. "She's… upset. She seemed a little more hopeful when we parted ways. Where's Barbara?" she asked, glancing around the room and failing to find the perky black-haired girl.

"She went down to visit Diana," Hannah said, shutting the door behind her girlfriend and throwing herself back onto the couch, where she was surrounded by textbooks and notes. While not as noteworthy a student as her prestigious roommate, Hannah herself was still diligent in her studies. "She's reading her the assigned chapter for Linguistics. I'm sure Diana has already read it, but… she's not sure how else to help. Neither of us are." She shrugged and leaned back into the soft cushions, kicking her legs up onto the cluttered coffee table. On vaguely hearing Diana's voice in the back of her mind saying, "Hannah, that is highly inappropriate, please keep your feet on the floor," she pulled her feet off with a heavy sigh and crossed them at the ankles.

Amanda hummed, sitting down next to the smaller girl and wrapping one arm around her small shoulders. The two were vastly different—Hannah with her unapologetic femininity and quiet calm, Amanda with her unrivaled athleticism and carefree attitude—and yet they somehow seemed to come together in a cathartic balance. "And what about you? How are you feeling?" she asked, pressing her lips gently against Hannah's temple.

Hannah rolled her shoulders in a shrug, letting her body mold into the warmth of her girlfriend. She loved the feeling that Amanda was her protector, that the other girl could defend her with both ferocity and strength. And, yet, behind closed doors, Amanda was as sweet and innocent as a newborn puppy. "I'm just ready to have her nagging back," she murmured, shifting brown eyes to meet green and offering a weak smile.

"Same. Well, Diana. Not the nagging."

Amanda let a small chuckle filter through her slightly parted lips. She knew it wasn't necessarily the time to make jokes, but she really didn't know of another way to cope with such a serious situation. That was how she usually got _by_ , after all. She flexed her fingers against Hannah's shoulder and leaned back, kicking her legs up onto the table with unbridled rebellion, enjoying the feeling of the other girl's hand ghosting over her abdomen in an affectionate pet. She made a point to flex her abs—Hannah loved the dips and curves of her muscles—and put on the most reassuring smile she could muster. "Diana will be just fine," she said, just as she had told Akko. "I promise."

Hannah let herself smile back. It wasn't enough to reach her eyes, wasn't enough to lead her girlfriend into the disbelief that she thought everything was alright, but she had at least attempted. She rolled toward the warmth of the other girl, letting her knees collapse against Amanda's thigh, and curled up in her arms. Finding her favorite home against the American witch's neck, she said, "I think that's what I love most about you."

"Huh?" Amanda felt her muscles go rigid. She swallowed hard, shifting beneath the weight of the smaller girl. "W—what?"

"You're so supportive. You're like a rock. You're _my_ rock," Hannah said, gently squeezing the side of Amanda's muscled torso and planting a chaste kiss to the side of her neck.

"A—and you… love… that?" Amanda stuttered, feeling the heat the color of her hair flooding to her face and the tips of her ears.

Hannah sat up, brown eyes widening as she stared at Amanda, who looked like she might have eaten a ghost pepper. "I—yeah," she admitted, feeling her own blush rise to her cheeks. "I guess I said that, didn't I?"

The two let silence settle between them. Hannah could feel Amanda's heart racing in the same rapid drumbeat that had been their first kiss, her neck an equal shade of nervous crimson. The American witch swiped her clammy palms on her knees and opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but all that came out was something between a squeak and a cough that made her want to bury her head in her hands in humiliation.

"I do, though," Hannah said at last, sensing that she was the one that needed to speak. Amanda had always been shy about feelings and expressing them, and that was one thing that Hannah wasn't too bad at. "I do… love you, you know."

Amanda's hand clamped down on Hannah's shoulder, green eyes falling, wide with shock, on the other girl's face. Hannah was gazing back at her with such an expression of sincerity that she felt her breath stutter with disbelief. "Whoa," she said at last, tasting the word that left her mouth with so much regret that she cringed away from herself.

She almost expected Hannah to be upset—she wasn't sure why, because Hannah was one of the most easygoing people she knew—but, instead, the other girl just laughed. "Cute," she murmured. Bashful Amanda was probably one of her favorites. It was always fun to see the outwardly confident witch shell-shocked at her hands. "You… don't have to say it back," she added. "I would never expect that of you. I know it's a lot."

"No!" Amanda blurted out, straightening up so fast that Hannah had to steady herself against the excitement of her rigid limbs. She could feel the flex of sinew beneath her hand as Amanda's abdomen rolled. "I definitely do! I mean… I love you, that is! I just didn't know if you felt the same and I wasn't sure when was a good time to tell you because I've never done this kind of thing and—"

"Amanda." Hannah silenced the other girl with an index finger to her moving lips, chuckling. "You're rambling."

"Oh. My bad."

Amanda finally cracked a smile, relaxing back into the sofa even though her neck was still burning and she had to wipe her hands on her knees again. She leveled her gaze with Hannah's, admiring the sparkle of mischievous confidence that had taken residence in her brown hues, and leaned in. She could feel the tickle of Hannah's soft lips, welcoming her own. The warm breath washing over her cheek. "I—I love you," Amanda said again, her eyelids flickering shut at the taste of her own words. She inhaled sharply as she lingered, waiting.

"I love you too," Hannah whispered, and Amanda could _feel_ the emotion behind the words against her lips. They sent a wavering heat coursing through her entire body, and she didn't even have to wonder if Hannah felt the same nervous energy of such a huge confession. The other girl, in all her bold flair, was quivering ever so slightly.

The final bits of the walls that Amanda had been building, brick by brick, came crashing down in a sea of unbridled trust. They were three words that, for so long, she had thought she didn't even deserve to hear from anyone at all. At the other girl' cue, Amanda tilted her head just enough to capture Hannah's lips with her own in a kiss that made even her bones ache with overwhelming affection.

* * *

"Akko!"

Before Akko could even step all the way into her room, Lotte had engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug that made her think her ribs were going to pop out of her skin. Even Sucy rose and joined, her touch noticeably gentler, but hardly felt because Akko was mostly focused on the air that was being squeezed out of her lungs.

"Ow—ow!" Akko moaned, but hugged them back all the same. "Air!"

"Sorry," Lotte said, releasing her grip and backing off with a sad smile. "I just figured you might need that. With Diana, and all."

"What she said," Sucy confirmed, letting one hand linger on Akko's arm. "How is she?"

"The same," Akko said, sighing heavily and looking between her two friends. "Madam Wong told me I had to leave for the night. She said if anything changed they'd let me know."

Sucy hummed, finally letting her arm fall and stepping back to her desk where she used the back of her wooden chair as a prop. She folded her arms across her chest, scrutinizing Akko with a half-lidded stare of curiosity. "And has anyone formulated a plan yet? I've been searching for ingredients for a potion that can wake someone from a coma, though the only one I've found requires the third nipple of a troll. Do you know how many trolls are left, much less one with three nipples?" Sucy shook her head, lavender hair swaying with the gentle motion. "Come to think of it, do either of you know how many nipples Amanda has?"

" _Sucy_ ," Lotte scolded, but covered her hand with her palm and let herself laugh anyway. "That's mean!"

"Amanda would have laughed," Sucy mumbled, letting a slow smirk edge its way across her lips.

Akko managed to crack a small smile. She plopped down at the edge of her bed, still grossly tousled from where she'd all but run out of it that morning. "Professor Ursula is doing research with Prof—er, Croix," she replied. "Apparently magical artifacts is very close to the magical technology department or… something. There were a lot of big words used." She shrugged. "But, no, no one knows what to do yet."

"You think someone here would've dealt with this kind of thing before," Sucy said. She side-eyed the massive index of potion recipes that was spread open on her desk. "You know, maybe someone has a spare nipple laying around in this place…" she said, mostly to herself. "I bet Finnelan has one or two, that seems like her kind of kink. Bet she has a whole belt—"

" _Sucy_!" Lotte squeaked, once again slapping a hand over her own mouth. "What if someone hears you?"

"We're in our room," Sucy grumbled back. "Who exactly is going to hear us?"

"I don't know, but… you know! What if someone is listening? That's always a possibility!" Lotte replied, gesticulating wildly to the door and back to her very amused roommate. Akko simply watched, one eyebrow quirked at the exchange between her friends. She was exhausted and could feel the last remnants of her energy seeping away just listening to them.

"Alright, Miss Conspiracy Theory," Sucy said, smirk widening. "But, anyway, there's got to be some way to do this, right? She's pretty much asleep, we just need to…" her voice trailed off as her red eyes settled on the tired Japanese witch. "Wake… her… up," she added, placing dramatic emphasis on each word. "Like we've never had to do _that_ before."

"Wait!" Akko all but shouted, eyes widening as she lifted her gaze to meet Sucy's. "By the Nine, you're a genius! We just have to wake her up!"

"Well that much is obvious," Lotte mumbled, pulling her glasses off to wipe them on her nightshirt before slipping them back on. "What am I not understanding here?"

"We've done this before!" Akko exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and grinned, raising a hand to point at Sucy as though the other girl held all the answers. And maybe she did. She _seemed_ to, at the moment. "How did I not think of this? We woke Sucy up that one time, remember?"

"Yeah, but…" Lotte frowned, unsure. "That was kind of different, Akko. She poisoned herself…"

"It was an _experiment_ ," Sucy said, lifting her chin with defensive arrogance and glowering at the smaller girl. A younger Lotte, one that didn't know the other girl so well, would have shrank back. A more confident Lotte simply raised her eyebrows and stared back.

"You poisoned yourself," she proclaimed. "Don't try arguing that."

"Whatever," Sucy grumbled back.

"It's the same thing," Akko was saying, bringing her hand to cup her chin in thought. "Sucy was asleep. Diana is asleep. I know how to do this. I'm experienced in this!"

"I wouldn't say experienced—" Sucy started.

"Well, I sure brought _you_ back, didn't I?" Akko retorted. She passed her fingers through her tangled brunette hair, crimson eyes gazing at the blank wall behind Sucy in thought. "It might be a little different, but the foundational theory is the same thing, right?"

"Did you just use a four syllable word?"

" _Sucy_!" Lotte groaned. "I guess it's _kind of_ the same… but maybe we should wait for the Professors to think of something first. We can't just go barging into people's heads like that without permission. Especially Diana's… what if her family sued us?"

Sucy rolled her eyes. "Her family wouldn't sue us for helping. And I don't think Akko would find anything particularly surprising. Unless it's _Diana_ that has the third nipple kink…"

" _Sucy!_ " both Akko and Lotte moaned in sync.

"I have an idea," Akko said, glancing at the door as though she was ready to bolt. Lotte, sensing her friend's intentions, immediately grabbed her bicep and held her back. "I'm going to talk to Professor Ursula about it. See what she thinks."

"Whoa," Lotte said, narrowing her eyes in disbelief. "Did you just say you're going to consult an adult before doing something? Who are you? Where's the real Akko? And no, you're not going tonight. You can go in the morning when you're not breaking rules."

Akko frowned, fixing her roommate with a glare. " _I'm_ the real Akko," she asserted, then added, "I just… don't want anything to go wrong. It's Diana. I don't want to… make things worse, you know?"

"Oh, but going into my head with absolutely no experience is just fine," Sucy mumbled, throwing herself back on her bed with a heavy sigh. "I'm with you, Akko. For once, I'm with you."

When she decided Akko wasn't going to run from the room, Lotte let her hand fall back to her side. She scratched at her other arm and frowned in thought, glancing back and forth between her two friends—one fixed with look of pure determination, the other simple blinking back with a typical lack of emotion.

"I—I guess I am, too," Lotte finally said. "It _does_ kind of make sense, and if you're going to at least talk to a Professor first…" She shrugged, sighing and forcing a smile. "I'm with you, too, Akko. Whatever it takes to help Diana."

Akko couldn't stop the broad smile that spread with the verbal confirmation of support by her friends. Sucy was out of range, lucky her—but Lotte sure wasn't. Akko tackled the Finnish witch into a tight hug, squeezing hard. "Thank you!" she said. "You guys are the best!"

"We—defi—nitely-are—" Lotte huffed, face reddening from a lack of oxygen. "Air! Please!" she moaned, letting her body fall slack with relief when Akko finally released her.

They had a plan. A plan that might actually _work,_ or, at the very least, help them find one that would. And the very knowledge that they had that much made Akko feel more like herself than she had in a long time.

She was going to bring Diana back. With this plan or the next. She would do whatever it took, whatever she had to do.

In pure Akko fashion, she would throw herself at the wall until she finally stuck.


	9. Intermission I

**Intermission I**

"My hands are cold!" Akko whined.

"Then put your gloves on," Diana said from where she sat on one of the many stone benches placed along the stone walkway that arced around the Cavendish Manor. After carefully clearing all the snow off, she had made her own little bubble of warmth ("Just as a bit of a comfort," she'd told Akko after being called a 'princess') and delved into some sort of book called _Influence of the Dragons Over the Ages_. Looked like studying to Akko, who had stared at her incredulously ("Are you seriously doing that right now?") before wandering off to play in the snow.

"But then I can't pack the snow just right," Akko said, rubbing her hands furiously against her red coat before swiping another armful of snow and adding it to... whatever it was she was building.

"What is that even supposed to be?" Diana asked, bookmarking her page with her finger and slowly letting the thick tome fall shut. Akko had been at it for the better part of an hour—to the point where Diana had almost become concerned with the silence and uncharacteristic level of concentration that the Japanese witch was displaying.

They had somehow acquired a few hours by themselves. Aunt Daryl had begrudgingly allowed the rest of their friends ("As long as Professor Ursula is the responsible adult!") to accompany herself and Diana's cousins into the city for a day of shopping. With Christmas newly over, Aunt Daryl's greed had reached a new height with the prospect of brand new things to add to her collection of other brand new things.

And, yet, with their alone time, Akko had decided to build...

"An igloo!" she exclaimed, flashing Diana one of her trademark grins as she worked on the roof. From where Diana was sitting, it looked more like a lopsided mound of snow and dirt with a crudely carved hole in the front. "Obviously!"

Diana couldn't hide the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. "That's hardly obvious," she murmured, before adding, "You know you could just use magic for that, right?"

"Then that-" Akko huffed as she pounded the snow together in an attempt to get it to stick. "Defeats-" A loud grunt, a little bit of a cave in, some Japanese slurs, and more pounding. "The purpose!"

"You are 17 years old," Diana reminded her, sounding surprisingly like a judging parent, in Akko's opinion. "This is extremely childish. And, along with that, a very high degree of cultural appropriation."

"Aw, it's just snow! And what you're doing-" Akko furiously rubbed her hands together and blew on them, rocking back onto her knees to level crimson eyes with blue, "Is extremely boring!"

"We have nearly the entire day to ourselves," Diana grumbled. "There are _other_ things we could be doing, love." She carefully set her book down on the dry stone beside her, making sure to note that she was on page 493 (which featured the participation of the Dragons in the French revolution!), before bringing her attention back to the Japanese witch who had resumed her attempt at architecture.

Akko rolled her eyes, scraping snow off the top in an attempt to smooth out the edge of the igloo. "Get your libido in check," she replied, offering a lopsided smile along with it just to let Diana know she was kidding, but the blonde haired witch still turned bright red and responded with:

"I didn't mean _that!_ "

But Akko could have sworn she heard the other girl mumble to herself, afterwards, "That is definitely what I meant."

"You could help," Akko offered, swiveling her gaze once more to the British witch with what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Maybe then my hands wouldn't be so cold, and I guarantee it's super fun!"

"I don't see how digging around in the snow is fun," Diana replied, though she had to admit she was kind of curious as to what the appeal was.

"Aw, pleeeeeease?" Akko begged, throwing snow into the air with dramatic flair and flinging herself over backwards. "Come and help a girl out! Then everything would be finished quicker and we could be doing... you know, _other_ things, as you so boldly put it."

Diana shook her head, tugging her scarf a little tighter as her warming bubble began to fade. "Absolutely not, Akko. I hardly find this whole thing," she waved a hand in front of her, as if encompassing the entire activity, "appealing."

"Fine," Akko grumbled.

Diana thought that the discussion was over and was just about to pick up her book and resume her reading when a massive fistful of snow exploded against the side of her face.

"Nerd!"

"Ak—Akko!" Diana sputtered, dropping the book and swiping her mittened hands at the side of her face to smack the snow off just as it began to melt, cold and wet, down her neck. She rose, swiping off the front of her coat and bringing an icy blue glare to fall on Akko.

The other girl was howling with laughter. Before Diana could even react, Akko was reeling back her arm and another crudely made snowball slammed into her forehead and sprayed ice and snow across her face.

A sound somewhat between a groan and the beginning of a scold slipped from the back of her throat, making Akko double over in laughter where she was kneeling in nearly a foot of snow next to what she so affectionately referred to as an 'igloo'.

That was it. If Akko was going to play games, Diana was going to do what she did best and _beat_ her at it.

Bolting from the radius of her warming spell and feeling the cold air hit her cheeks like a wall, she gathered snow into her hands and started chucking it at the Japanese witch, whose expression of shock was quickly wiped away with a snowball to the face. In a flash, Diana had whipped out her wand and, with a flick, was sending an unending stream of snow in the other girl's direction.

"Cheating!" Akko wailed beneath the barrage of snow-fire. She tried to dodge out of the way, but the glowing green snow simply followed her and pummeled against the side of her coat. She shielded her face, throwing herself down into the thick blanket of snow—the only defense she could think of—and screaming, "I give up, I give up! I surrender!"

Diana lowered her wand, smirking as she tucked it back into its holster and strode over to Akko, who lay in a pitiful huddle of thick clothing and snow. She hummed, glaring down at the other witch with a devious smile. "Try it again. I dare you."

"I would never," Akko mumbled, gazing up at Diana with scrunched eyebrows that were flecked with bits of snow. "Now that I know you would cheat."

"It's hardly cheat-"

Diana's sentence was cut short as Akko's legs flew to the side, connecting with the other girl's boots and sending her toppling into to the snow as her legs were kicked out from under her. In a flash, the other girl was straddling her with a massive armful of snow hovering over her head.

" _Akko_!" she yelled, holding her hands out in front of her face.

"Hmm. You really think I would do this to you?" Akko asked, tilting her head to the side as she rocked back, sitting on Diana's knees and lowering her arms and, with it, the snow. "I wouldn't sink to your level."

Diana slowly lowered her arms, peering back into the devious red eyes that glared down at her. "I'm a witch, Akko, why would I not use-"

An armful of snow smashed into her face and she found herself shrieking as her arms flailed out once more and she squirmed to try to get away.

"Just kidding!" Akko yelled, tilting her head back and cackling. "I'd totally sink to your level. You're so easy to trick!"

"That was uncouth," Diana grumbled when the assault ended, swiping the already melting snow off her face and neck while blinking it out of her eyes. "Hardly appropriate behavior-"

Once more, she found her words cut short. But, this time, unlike the barrage of cold that had struck her only a moment before, there was nothing but warmth as Akko's lips fell onto her own. She felt her body responding instantly, hands snaking up to wrap around the sleeves of the other girl's coat as she pulled her in with a satisfied groan.

"And you're easy with... other things," Akko added with a smirk, pulling away and gently ghosting her lips over Diana's nose.

"I'm not—I'm not _easy_ ," Diana snapped, feeling her face flush with heat. "It's just—it's your stupid—it's-"

"So easy to get you flustered, too," Akko added, grinning as she dropped back in and kissed the other girl once more. Diana lifted her head and kissed her back with fervor, cold noses settling against cheeks, warm breaths of air puffing out in increasingly quickening rhythms. Akko could feel Diana's mittens, wet with snow, pressing against the back of her neck to pull her in.

When the two finally broke away, both gasping for air and blushing furiously, Diana couldn't seem to summon any complete word. Not a single one. Her mouth simply opened and fell shut once more.

"Want to stay at my place tonight?" Akko asked, winking (surprisingly well, Diana thought, must go with the unintended charisma), and nudging her chin in the direction of the assimilation of snow that she had decided to call an igloo.

Diana's blonde eyebrows stitched together as she stared up at the other girl. "I am not getting in that thing," she mumbled.

"Aw, please? I built it for you."

The Japanese witch was begging. Again. And giving her those sad eyes that made it hard for her to say no to _anything_. Diana let a heavy sigh slip through her lips and pushed her upper body into a sitting position, letting her face come so close to the other girl's that their noses brushed together. "Fine," she whispered. "But if that thing falls on me, so help me Nine-"

"It won't!" Akko declared with excitement, wide grin spreading across her face as she jumped to her feet and made her way towards it. "This is a defining moment of my career, my pride and joy! A one-hundred-percent, authentic, home-made Kagari mansion!"

Diana hesitantly followed the other girl inside, feeling much like a child as she crawled on her hands and knees (and even had to do some awkward tuck with her legs) to get inside. The inside was cramped and close, and she found herself settling against Akko and trying very hard not to lean against the precariously designed walls.

"There's a hole in the roof," Diana deadpanned, bringing blue eyes to meet the youthful sparkle of red.

"Skylight," Akko replied, pulling a massive piece of bread from her pocket and taking a bite. "That was a feat of engineering that few have attempted before."

Diana let her eyes shut, breathing heavily through her nose as she brought a mittened hand to press her face into. "Did you steal that from the kitchen? Again? You know Anna will give you a fresh roll whenever you ask. You don't have to sneak them into your dirty pockets-"

"It's called _bacterial resistance_ ," Akko emphasized through a mouthful of bread. "Don't you ever wonder why I don't get sick?"

"We're witches," Diana moaned, letting her head tilt back to press against Akko's soft shoulder. "Minor illnesses like that are hardly an issue."

"Ha! That's what you think," Akko exclaimed, taking one last bite before shoving the remainder of the half-eaten roll back into her coat pocket.

"I know-"

Diana hummed, letting a soft chuckle escape her lips as she settled into Akko's arms. She didn't know why she was trying to argue with Akko—it was obvious the other girl was simply trolling for a reaction. Instead, she let herself grow quiet, tuning out the muted sounds that came from outside the wall of snow and ice and listening, instead, to Akko's rhythmic breathing.

"Speaking of illness," Diana said carefully, tilting her chin up and letting her forehead press against Akko's chin, "Are you feeling... alright? After last night?"

"Oh, that," Akko rolled her shoulders and wrapped her arms around Diana's torso, hugging her close as the two relaxed as much as they could in such a small space, the snow crunching as it compacted under their bodies. Diana was referring to the previous night, when Akko had woken in a cold sweat and couldn't seem to get back to sleep. "Just a nightmare. Everyone has one of those once in a while," she said dismissively.

Diana couldn't argue. Even she'd found herself upset and awake at the result of her mind running wild in her dreams. "Okay," she agreed, letting her eyes fall shut. "As long as it was nothing that worried you."

"Nah."

"Alright. Good."

Diana eased back into Akko's comfortable embrace, scooting up so that their cold cheeks warmed each other, and sighed with content. The other girl's bare fingers, pale and dry against the icy winter air, coaxed their way against Diana's mittens to find the groove of her fingers and squeeze.

"Hey, Diana?" Akko said after some time, leaning forward and brushing her lips against the other girl's hair.

"Mm?"

She could feel Akko smiling against her skin, the tiny bit of pressure that the other girl applied to her hands before she uttered her next words.

"I love you."

Everything was still so new—so _fresh—_ that Diana couldn't stop the burning heat that rose into her neck and cheeks. She could feel her pulse quickening, a small choke at the back of her throat that she knew Akko noticed, and tensed her jaw as she straightened her spine and turned to face Akko. The other girl had her own dusting of a blush on her cheeks.

"I love you, Akko," Diana replied, the words slipping easily from between her dry lips. She could feel the corners of her mouth turning unconsciously upwards, the fog of a longing ache, the increased pulse of magic as it swirled around them.

She felt the other girl's cold, bare hand cupping her cheek and pulling her in, their lips colliding with the a mutual sharp intake of a breath, moving slowly together in a way that made both of their bodies slacken against the other's. And, in doing so, Akko unknowingly leaned a little too far back and-

" _Akko_!"

The two girls collapsed along with the entirety of the igloo-one howling with laughter, the other shrieking with surprise—into a massive mound of snow and ice.

"I can't believe that didn't happen sooner!" Akko hollered, clutching her abdomen as she cackled, her flushed face turned to the sky as she settled back into large clumps of snow that covered her entire body.

Diana was busy swiping snow off herself, still tangled around the other girl, and let out a loud whine. "I can't believe you brought me into this death trap. Not that you haven't done something like that _before_."

The sheer dramatic attitude of the sentence made Akko laugh even harder. She gasped for air, struggling to get oxygen to her lungs as she turned and pressed her lips against Diana's cheek to try to quell her amusement. Diana couldn't help herself—her own laughter started to filter from her lips as she fell back against Akko and let the giggles rock her spine.

"It's a metaphor," Akko said at last, staring up into the gray sky and letting her head fall next to Diana's, their skulls pressed together, blonde hair swirling with brunette as the cold of the snow bit through their skin. Neither of them cared.

Diana hummed, turning to wrap an arm across Akko's chest. She nuzzled her cold nose into the other girl's neck, letting herself smile in their own moment of innocence. And it was always like that with Akko—when they were together, time simply fell away, and their cares along with it, until there was only the two of them and the magic that linked them tightly together. "A metaphor for what?" she asked.

"Don't know," Akko said, closing her eyes as warm lips pressed against her jaw, as her heart thrummed with nothing but affection for the girl pressed against her. "But I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes** :

Gather around the bonfire, have some respite from the darkness of the story. You've earned it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Come in!"

Waking up at the first light of dawn was not something that Akko enjoyed doing on a Saturday, which was the exact reason she didn't even bother to take her nightly potion for fear that she'd have trouble getting up. The lack of sleep was a misery in its own right, her mind running wild with thoughts of Diana, a constant ache in her chest at the thought of the girl being alone in the clinic. She'd almost snuck out in the middle of the night to pay a visit, but Lotte had heard the creaking of their bunk bed and scolded her back under the sheets.

Still in her faded white Shiny Chariot shirt (she'd at least thrown on a sports bra, for posterity's sake) and baggy grey sweatpants, she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and pushed open the door to Professor Ursula's living quarters.

One of the last things she expected to see was Chariot herself. The Professor's hair was no longer blue, instead replaced by the long, bright red locks of her childhood idol. It looked like Akko's knock had woken her—she was seated at the edge of her bed, rubbing the corners of her eyes with her glasses held in one hand.

"Mm, babe? Everything alright?"

A familiar lilac-haired witch rolled over where she was sprawled under the sheets on the other side of the bed—Akko had been so surprised by the sight of Chariot she hadn't even _seen_ her—and suddenly jerked upright at the sight of the Japanese witch. Her hair, which had grown to near shoulder-length since the last time Akko had seen her, was a tousled mess, and her face looked a little bit thinner, exhaustion settling into the fine lines around her eyes.

"Oh, um…" Akko trailed off, hand lingering on the edge of the wooden door as she took a step backwards. A warm blush trickled into her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't know—"

"No, it's okay. Come in, Akko," Chariot said with a welcoming smile, rising to her feet. Alcor squawked loudly from his perch, and the Professor stuck her hand into a bowl of corn and held them out on her palm for him to peck at.

"Hello, Miss Kagari," Croix greeted, clearing her throat and running her hand through her pale hair. She looked a lot less confident than Akko had remembered. Insecure, almost. Maybe a little… flighty?

"Hi, Professor—er, Miss?—um, Senpai?" Akko settled with a hopeful half-smile, eyebrows stitching together at the pain of trying to decide what in the world to call the older woman.

"Croix is fine," the woman replied, rising to her feet with a stretch. The pair of pajamas she was wearing was obviously one of Chariot's, because the legs barely reached halfway down her calves and the sleeves cut off mid wrist.

"Croix flew in last night," Chariot informed her student, brushing the crumbs of corn against her flannel pants and turning her attention back to the still flustered witch. "She's been helping me research Diana's condition."

"Right," Akko said, taking a deep breath and nodding. Akko had been aware of that—she just didn't expect to actually _see_ the other woman, much less in Chariot's bed. Though, it wasn't as though the idea of the relationship came as much of a shock. After all, it had been kind of obvious, and now that she thought about it, her mentor _had_ hinted at it quite a few times.

Chariot beckoned to a seat at her table, pulling a spare chair up from her desk to make room for all three of them. Akko sat down readily, letting her toe bounce against the ground as her eyes swept between her current and former Professors. Croix still made her a little nervous, to be sure, and she wasn't confident that she trusted the woman all the way, though she had long since forgiven her for their Noir Missile crisis. But, if she still held Chariot's faith, Akko supposed she could at least try.

"That's what I came to see you about," Akko said, glancing down at her lap and the fidgeting fingers that she clutched over her twitching leg. "I want to try to help her."

"I know you do, Akko," Chariot said, giving the girl a sad smile from across the room where she placed a kettle on her small stove top. "But, I fear helping her may not be so easy. This is a… precarious situation. Croix, would you fill her in while I make the tea?"

"Er—" Croix raised an eyebrow at the other woman, hesitating before taking the empty chair next to Akko and leaning back, hands settling over her abdomen. "It seems that Miss Cavendish was seeking the Lumière de l'esprit. Did you have any former knowledge—"

"No," Akko cut in quickly, leveling ruby eyes with teal. "Diana didn't tell me anything."

Croix nodded. "Well, this particular artifact was banned from use nearly three hundred years ago. An incident occurred that rendered it entirely defective. The Ministry has been attempting to confiscate the item ever since, but unfortunately the Lumière was missing for quite some time and, after that, Holbrooke was unwilling to sell. Do you know the purpose of the lantern?"

Akko rubbed her thumb against her palm, glancing to find the back of Chariot's messy red hair before returning her gaze to Croix. "Professor… um, Chariot, said that it had something to do with extracting mental illnesses. Right?"

"That's correct," Croix confirmed. "Or, well, that was its original use. The Lantern was created by a medical witch by the name of Margeaux Laurent nearly 800 years ago to use in a famous French sanitarium. It was designed to pull the dark spirit of mental disease from the patient's mind and destroy it within a purifying flame. Akko, have you ever tried to add items to a container that was already full?"

Akko thought about pickled plums and how she once tried to shove as many as she could into her mouth on a dare from Sucy, only to waste a few by spitting them onto the floor. "Well, yeah," she said. "The container would start to… overflow."

A hard swallow pressed against the front of her throat as Chariot set the tea kettle, along with three mugs, on the table and took her own seat. Akko watched as she carefully poured the tea evenly between the cups and took her own, along with a spoonful of sugar, with a quiet murmur of a, "Thank you."

"Precisely," Croix was saying as she added a little cream to her own tea and swirled the dark liquid with a small spoon. "The darkness within began to overtake the purity of the flame and resulted in the bursting of the vessel." She paused, taking a sip of her tea before continuing. "It resulted in a massive fire in the ward it was being housed in and, soon after, its use was abandoned entirely. The artifact was dormant until the middle of the 19th century, when a new owner acquired the item.

"This is where we learned the true outcome of the years of overuse. The new owner's young daughter managed to get her hands on the artifact, which the man had—stupidly—," Croix scrunched her nose and scolded, "—left within range of a child."

"And what… happened?" Akko asked, pressing her own warm mug of tea to her lips.

"I'm getting to that," Croix grumbled, earning a chiding glance from Chariot before forcing a false smile. "It seems that the spirits within the Lantern, the ones that weren't destroyed, were simply waiting for a new mind to corrupt. Hugo's daughter—er, Victor Hugo that is, if you know who he is—" Akko shook her head. "—didn't think so, that would require reading—" Chariot huffed and shot another glare her way. Croix cleared her throat. "But, anyway, one such spirit managed to corrupt the girl. We don't know the exact details of the action, seeing as she was unsupervised at the time, but she was inflicted with a severe mental illness that, while not completely debilitating, remained for the rest of her life."

"So… the same thing happened to Diana?" Akko asked, setting the mug back down on the table and meeting Croix's teal eyes once more. "And this will last… forever?"

"That's not what I said," Croix sighed, sipping her tea again and quieting when Chariot placed her hand on her arm. "Apologies, I got in late last night. I'm a bit…"

"Grumpy," Chariot finished, smile tugging at one side of her mouth as she gave Croix a look of affection that Akko had never seen her wear before.

Croix coughed into her fist. "Anyway," she continued. "Hugo's daughter was non-magical. The effect of the Lantern was not the same as it would be for a witch. This is likely why Diana is non-responsive. Or, at least, in my opinion. Either that, or the spirit that latched onto her represents a different manifestation of the disorder—one of those, maybe both."

"So how do we get it out?" Akko asked quickly, feeling the rate of her heartbeat quicken. She wiped sweaty palms against her sweatpants and looked between the two older witches. "I mean, we just have to kick the spirit out, right?"

"Technically," Croix said, pursing her lips and tilting her chin up in recognition. "But, unfortunately, there has never been a case like this… at least within all our research and the classified data I managed to find in the Ministry archives. There is no known protocol for this situation, which brings quite a bit of caution into the mix. We will have to locate the source of the illness and extract it manually."

Akko felt the smirk etching across her face before she could stop it. "So… kind of like… spirit realm walking?" she asked.

Croix's lilac eyebrows knit together as she turned to look at Chariot.

"How do you even know about that? I… suppose something like that might work," Croix said, though she looked rather tentative in her response. She shuffled her mug of tea between her hands and turned back to Akko. "Though, there are only a handful of individuals that have experience with that. We'd have to reach out and see who could come on such short notice…"

"I can do it!" Akko exclaimed, grinning. "That's exactly what I came to see you about! I've done it before with Sucy and—"

"You entered Sucy's spirit realm?" Chariot asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow at the excited witch. "How on earth—you know what, never mind that, I'm not sure I want to know," she said, raising a hand to halt the words leaving Akko's mouth before she could get them out. She threw a glance at Croix. "She is rather close with Diana, and it _is_ best if the walker has some sort of relationship with the subject. Maybe this is actually a good idea?"

Akko was positively beaming. She had a good idea! Well, Sucy kind of did, but that was beside the point, because the other witch wasn't there to claim the credit.

"Though, there is one thing," Chariot added, frowning. "Madam Wong does have you on a strict balance of potions, doesn't she? You… wouldn't be able to take those. Any other kind of magical influence could have negative consequences. I'm not so sure…"

"Potions?" Croix asked. Chariot's hand squeezing her arm silenced her and she simply shrugged and looked away. "Don't care anyway," she muttered.

"No!" Akko said, slamming her fist down on the table and making the spoon rattle in her mug. "I don't care! If this is going to help Diana, I'm absolutely going to do it! Besides," she grumbled, "I haven't taken them in a day anyway."

Croix studied Akko as though sizing up competition, clutching her warm mug of tea and leveling a gaze at the young witch. "I do want you to know that this could be rather dangerous. We don't know what we'll find in there. There's… no way to tell."

"Either way," Akko stated, folding her arms across her chest and clenching her jaw with set determination that wouldn't be swayed. "It doesn't matter. I've been in danger before and this is a very good reason to be in danger again." She felt her voice falter as she added, "Besides, it's Diana. She's too important to not be worth it."

"I can ground the realm," Croix added, lips moving slowly over her agreeance. "Given the right resources, which I'm sure Wong has, I can at least monitor Akko's condition and provide an emergency exit as necessary."

"Alright," Chariot murmured, sighing as she slouched back into her chair. "Well, I suppose that settles it, then. I'll speak to the Headmistress and let her know what our plans are."

Akko brought her tea to her lips and drank deeply, letting her eyes fall to the fingers that twitched around the ceramic mug, mind falling on the blonde witch that lay motionless across the school.

She was going to enter Diana's mind. And, while bold in her decision and confident in her abilities to bring her back, she was still terrified of what she might find there.

* * *

"This is way too crowded!" Madam Wong exclaimed, looking entirely unamused at the group of students and adults that had formed around Diana's still body. "I simply don't understand why every one of you feel the need to be here for this!"

 _Because we all love Diana_ , Akko wanted to say, but instead yelped and shouted "Ouch!" when the nurse stabbed a needle into the vein of her arm. She was laying on a bed right next to Diana, fingers tapping nervously against the sheets as she watched the needle sliding further beneath her skin.

"Don't be such a baby," Sucy groaned, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at her roommate. "It's not that bad."

Both Sucy and Lotte had gathered as moral support for both Akko and Diana, along with Hannah, Amanda (who had her arms wrapped around the front of the former), Barbara, Jasminka, and Constanze. Constanze was far more interested in the tech that Croix had gathered and assembled for supervision purposes, which, to Akko, just looked like white noise on a tiny screen with a series of bars and lines on much larger monitor alongside. Headmistress Holbrooke stood in the corner next to Professor Ursula (who had once more donned the appearance of her alias), a look of both concern and displeasure etched across her features. Akko wasn't sure how the Professor had managed to convince her that this was a good idea, but she assumed it had a lot to do with tenacity and probably a lot more to do with threats of the school's revenue.

Everyone was looking intently at the Japanese witch, who was squirming underneath the pressure of Madam Wong's ministrations.

"Please stop moving so much," Madam Wong scolded, pushing Akko's wrist down into the bed and taping off the needle, "Or you're going to push this needle straight through your own arm."

Akko blanched and immediately stilled, huffing through her nose as she watched the nurse hook her up to an IV. "So what you're saying is I don't have to take a magical baseball bat to the side of the head?" she asked, glancing among the adults.

"Right," Croix confirmed, watching as Akko's vitals spiked across the screen as Madam Wong pressed the adhesive sensor against the small witch's abdomen. "We will be putting you under in a safe environment. I'm not sure who thought you needed a concussion to do this the first time," she raised her teal eyes to fall on Lotte and Sucy, watching as the Finnish witch squirmed beneath her stare, "but that is a very crude method of entering the spirit realm and is no longer used."

Akko nodded, laying her head back against the thin hospital pillow and listening to the series of beeps and drones that fired up with Croix's machine. Constanze, with Stanbot balancing on her shoulder, was observing with an eye of both curiosity and understanding.

Earlier, Croix had attached what she called a "magical repository" on the side of both her own temple and Diana's, which she said would create the current of energy to connect them on the spirit realm. "No need for a risky spell these days," Croix had said, "when we have this kind of technology."

"Want a cookie before you go?" Jasminka asked, holding out a box of chocolate chip cookies in offering. When Akko shook her head, she withdrew her arm. "Alright, then." She shrugged, holding still while Amanda and Sucy both lurched forward to dig their hands into the box.

"Thanks, though," Akko muttered, turning her head to stare at the side of Diana's pale face. Her eyelids were still closed delicately, chest rising and falling with each gentle breath. She reached out with the hand closest to the other girl (the one that wasn't currently impaled with a needle) and wrapped her fingers around Diana's.

 _I'm coming for you_ , she wanted to say, but the many eyes that were on her forced the words to simply resound in her head. _I'm bringing you back_.

"Are you ready, Akko?" Professor Ursula asked, stepping forward and placing a gentle hand on the girl's leg. "And are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Yes," Akko said, tensing her grip on Diana's hand and letting out a deep breath. "I'm sure."

Croix motioned to a large black button on her control pad and Constanze reached out and pushed it. A strange whirring noise like a fan being turned on lifted into the air, though Akko wasn't quite sure if it was in the room or in her own head—she could no longer hear the ambient noise of the machines around her. She could feel warmth starting to spread through the inside of her skull, though it wasn't necessarily unpleasant. Just… strange.

Two long tendrils of magic snaked from the source on her temple and reached into Diana's, swirling and writhing between the two girls like great emerald snakes. For a moment, it looked like Diana had taken a larger breath. Her pale, dry lips moved slowly, her fingers twitching against Akko's palm.

"Breathe deep and count down from ten," she heard Madam Wong say before pressing a large vaporizer down over her mouth and nose. Akko inhaled heavily, pursing her lips and focusing on Diana. On the gentle curve of her jawline, on the mass of blonde and tea-green waves that draped over her shoulder. Squeezing her eyes shut, she began to count down. Ten, one-hundred, nine, one-hundred, eight, one-hundred…

She had no idea what to expect, but that hardly mattered. She wasn't scared. Whatever it was in there, it didn't make a difference. Diana was coming back with her.

Akko didn't even reach four before she felt herself slipping into darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Though she was absolutely exhausted from studying all morning, the Biology exam that loomed on the horizon of the coming week kept her diligently at work. She sipped at her Earl Grey as she clicked through the slideshow presentation on her MacBook, carefully studying the test review for anything that she could have missed on her flash cards. Though she agreed with Damien ("You know those are supposed to be made well in advance to study from, right?"), just writing down the facts helped her memorize everything. Besides, she had a decent enough grade in the class already, and she'd paid relative attention to each lecture, so she figured she'd do just fine.

With a heavy sigh, she rested her forehead against her palm and stared at the bright screen of her computer, throwing a quick glance at the time. Not even noon. She really didn't know if she could study _that_ much longer. Besides, she had to condition her saddle. The colder weather had dried out the leather and it needed a little bit of TLC.

Plus, she did want to pay a visit to the stable and exercise Luna. Maybe if she just reviewed _one_ more chapter, she'd let herself go do what she wanted with the rest of the day. Besides, it was kind of her fault that she'd gotten a late start studying for the exam. She'd decided to stay up well after midnight to binge a show on Netflix and couldn't be bothered to wake up until nine.

She had just started writing the difference between macro and microevolution on a fresh flashcard when a soft, feminine voice rang out behind her.

"Wow, is this seriously what you're doing in your mind?"

And it was most _certainly_ not the voice of anyone in her family.

* * *

When the darkness cleared, Akko found herself standing in a small bedroom. Against the wall was a decent sized bed with a stark white comforter, though it wasn't made-the sheets were still crumpled to the side and half hanging off the bed itself. A couple of water bottles, all half-full, littered the bedside table along with a framed picture of a horse.

This wasn't any bedroom she recognized from the Cavendish Manor, or _anywhere_ , for that matter. The walls were white, barren aside from a single cork board that held a few post-it notes and stickers that Akko didn't recognize. An old hardwood floor, splintered and cracking in some areas, was hidden beneath a massive, ornate blue rug that looked like it had been freshly vacuumed.

The only items in the room—aside from a rather small television that sat on a dresser against the far wall—was a desk that looked very much like the one in her own room. And, at it… was Diana.

Akko felt the breath hitch in her throat as her eyes fell on the familiar blonde and tea-green locks that waved down the girl's back. They were slightly messy and frizzy, just like they always were in the morning when the other girl was first waking up and hadn't had a chance to tame her otherwise wild hair. She was wearing a white tank top and shorts so short they could've rivaled her own red ones. Weird, she never wore anything like that at school. Maybe it was because this was kind of a dream?

Diana was hunched over a computer (also weird, Luna Nova didn't have computers) and was writing something furiously.

She was… studying?"

All in all, it made sense. Sucy's mind had been an absolute frenzy of chaos. Truth be told, Akko was expecting something a little bit more… cultured, maybe? And yet there was Diana, sitting in complete normalcy, doing exactly what she _always_ did.

"Wow, is this seriously what you're doing in your mind?" Akko heard herself say, brown eyebrows stitching together as she took a step forward.

Diana whirled so fast she thought the other girl was going to get whiplash. A stack of notecards went flying across the room as the blonde girl's arms flew out in a panic, the old wooden chair she'd been sitting in collapsing to the side in a loud bang as it struck the leg of the table.

"Who—who are you?" Diana shouted, bright blue eyes widening in shock as she scrambled backwards and slammed the back of her head against the frame of her wardrobe.

"Wait… what?" Akko froze, narrowing her eyes in suspicion before remembering that Sucy's mind had _multiple_ Sucy's that she had to go through before she found the real one. It had to be the same thing, right? Good thing she had experience with that! She shook her head to clear the surprise before saying, "You must not be the real Diana. Can you tell me where she is? Or show me? It's kind of important, so if we could—"

"What are you talking about?" Diana scrambled to her feet, gripping the edge of her desk to steady herself as she glared at the strange, foreign girl that was standing in her room. "How did you even get in here?"

Akko sighed heavily, pressing her fingers into her temple. "You must be Confused Diana," she grumbled. She decided to try a different approach and clapped her hands together, eyes widening as she held the gaze of the extremely startled version of Diana standing in front of her. "Take. Me. To. Your. Leader."

"Oh, my God," Diana moaned, bringing a hand to her face and covering her eyes as she inhaled deeply. "I'm hallucinating. Of course I'm hallucinating. Look, I'm just trying to study, can we not do this right now?"

God? Diana wasn't Christian. Akko raised an eyebrow and took a hesitant step forward, growing more confused and frustrated by the minute. She felt herself glancing around the room, at the notecards that had sprayed all over the floor, at the disheveled girl who was struggling not to look at her and repeating something under her breath.

Everything was slowly starting to make sense. Well, as much sense as the whole situation could possibly _make_ , because Nine knew that the entire thing was completely messed up and Akko just wanted to take Diana back and get this whole thing over with.

"You're… the only Diana?" she asked.

"That I know of!" Diana said back, lowering her hands, which had rubbed the sides of her nose a bright, raw red. "I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only one in the world. I know I'm not. That's obvious. But I'm the only one _here_ , though that still doesn't tell me who _you_ are, but I suppose that doesn't matter because I'm hallucinating anyway and you aren't even real—"

Diana was rambling off so fast that Akko couldn't even keep up, which was something completely unlike the usually poised witch. And, to top it off, her speech didn't sound nearly as pompous and proper as it usually did.

"I'm Akko," Akko finally said, waving her arms in front of her in an attempt to get Diana to stop running off at the mouth. Man, now she knew how other people felt when _she_ did it. "You know, Atsuko Kagari? Your girlfr—er, wait, we never really discussed labels so that's not quite right. Uh, the person you kiss and stuff? Sound familiar? We stopped a missile together and also a bunch of crazy necromancers?" Now _she_ was rambling. Great, this was going well.

" _No!_ " Diana all but shrieked.

Akko flinched back, feeling one shoe sink into the soft rug beneath her. "Ouch, okay, that's fine. It's probably just the curse or whatever. That doesn't matter, just… can you wake up, now? Come back to Luna Nova? Or is there something around here I need to punch or break to end all this stuff?" She grabbed at her wand and popped it into the air. "Or I could just fry it with some terrible spells."

Diana was breathing so quickly and heavily that Akko thought she was going to pass out. Fumbling over herself, the other girl pushed her wooden chair upright and all but collapsed into it, curling in on herself. "Please just go away," the blonde girl groaned. "I thought this was over."

Akko blinked. "Um…"

Before she could say anything more or even think about how to approach the strange turn of events, the door to the room slammed open. Akko whirled in surprise to find herself face-to-face with—

"Damien?" she said, eyebrows knitting together in surprise.

"Diana, are you alright?" he asked, rushing forward and kneeling next to the girl who was hanging over her own knees with her face in her hands. "I heard a noise—is it happening? Are you okay?"

The man before her looked different. More youthful, a little less put together, but it was definitely Diana's brother. After all, Akko had come face-to-face with him multiple times. There was no denying the swept back hair, the dark blue eyes, the strong jaw. Or the _height_ , for that matter.

Another body rushed into the door frame. A woman, with Diana's same hair but shorter, and she was older than any photograph Akko had ever seen in the Cavendish Manor, but it was most _definitely_ Lady Cavendish. How? Akko felt herself step back, feeling the insides of her temples pulse with the oncoming headache from thinking too hard.

"I can definitely explain why I'm here," Akko was saying. "I just need to get Diana back to Luna Nova, that's all—"

But Damien wasn't listening, nor was Lady Cavendish. Damien was busy tending to the wailing girl in front of her, while Diana's mother was silent and rifling through drawers while shouting encouraging words. Neither paid any mind to the extremely bewildered witch that was standing in the middle of the room.

It was almost as if they couldn't even _see_ her.

Akko could feel herself growing more desperate and confused by the second. Diana was ignoring her now, clutching at Damien's arms as he coaxed her to breathe. The other girl glanced over once, met Akko's inquisitive gaze, and quickly looked away as though she'd been burned.

"Diana…"

Akko felt her feet carrying her forward. This was all a very bizarre situation, something that Akko most certainly didn't understand and even more-so didn't want to continue. She just wanted to be back at Luna Nova, back in Diana's arms. Her arm stretched forward, hand lingering over Diana's shoulder.

"Come back," she murmured, gently letting her palm fall against the warm skin of the girl's shoulder.

A sudden jolt of force, like a cold hand had pierced her skin and was slowly ripping her insides out, made her gasp in surprise. Her heart throbbed once, twice, then exploded into a rhythm so fast that she thought it couldn't possibly maintain that kind of speed without failing.

Akko's whole body began to tremor uncontrollably. She felt her hand slipping away from Diana, losing her crumpled body in the fog that was creeping into the corners of her eyes. The room she was standing in began to dissipate entirely, furniture and walls falling into nothing but the void of darkness as Akko's lungs contracted in a desperate attempt for air.

Once again, everything went black.

* * *

"Agh!"

"Akko, Akko! It's okay, Akko, hold on!"

Akko lurched upright, one hand flying over her heart as she clenched down on the fabric of her vest and cried out. She could hear a commotion around her—the shrieking of machines, multiple voices yelling, the footsteps of rushed bodies. She was convinced that her heart was going to push right through her ribcage, that her lungs were going to explode inside her.

Something was pinching into the crook of her arm, some kind of rope was tangled around her, but she didn't care. She just needed air, she just needed some kind of relief and for everything to just _stop_. Her hand lifted to claw at the skin of her neck and collarbone as she heaved, mouth wide as she gasped for air and tilted her head back for bright, searing lights to impale her dilated pupils.

Someone's hands were on her, pulling the ropes away, ripping things off her body. Another pair of hands closed around her shoulders and held her hard.

"It's alright, Akko. Just breathe! Everything's okay—you're fine!"

As the world around her slowly began to settle into place, Akko could finally make sense of the voice coaxing her at her side. Lotte's soft words began to filter through the barrier that her mind had created, her freckled face began to materialize as the dark fog in Akko's eyes cleared. Madam Wong was racing around her body, ripping off all the equipment that had been hooked into her skin and slinging it to the floor so haphazardly that Akko had to vaguely wonder if that was even the right way to treat sterile equipment.

She felt a hand on her abdomen and the small square pad that had been pressed between her hipbone and bellybutton was yanked off. All at once, the painful shrieking of Croix's machine was brought to a halt and all that was left was Akko's desperate gasping and the wheezing breaths that slipped through her mouth.

"It's okay, Akko," Lotte said again, wrapping her arms tight around Akko's shoulders and pulling her in once all the tubes and wires had been removed. Sucy stood at the foot of the bed, one hand clutching and squeezing Akko's calf as she watched.

But Akko was hardly paying attention. Her shoulders rolled and arched as she tried to fill her lungs with air. She could feel the sweat trickling down the side of her temple.

"Diana," she panted, struggling free from Lotte's tight grasp as she turned to look desperately for the other witch. She _had_ to have brought her back with her, right? She had grabbed her, she had _felt_ her, right before her body had failed her and sent her spiraling back to the real world.

"Akko—" Lotte started to say.

Bloodshot crimson eyes fell on the motionless body of Diana and she felt an animalistic wail hit the back of her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her jaw so tight she felt like her teeth were going to break, choking on the screams that echoed inside of her head. Something wet was streaking down her face but she wasn't sure anymore if it was sweat or tears. Her chest felt like it was going to explode—she clawed at it again, rolling her torso forward and straining to hold back the desperate shrieks, groans, and garbled pleas for Diana that spilled from inside her like an overflowing fountain.

Lotte's arms were around her again, along with somebody else's, she wasn't sure who they belonged to. She didn't care. Her body was breaking from the inside out and none of it even mattered, because Diana was still trapped in her own head.

Akko didn't bring her back.

She had _failed_.

* * *

Akko had experienced her fair share of panic attacks since the return to Luna Nova from helping Diana with the Order of Aurelion, but every single one of them paled in comparison to the one she'd had when she was thrown back to reality.

Her head was _throbbing_.

Somebody had carried her back to her room because she'd been so weak she couldn't even walk. She wasn't able to identify who. She hadn't cared.

She lay on her back on her bunk, one arm thrown out to the side and dangling uselessly over the side of her bed. She felt drained, empty, like a void of humanity that was simply taking up space and doing nothing with it. She could feel the glaze that fell over her eyes as she simply stared up at the wooden planks between her own bunk and Lotte's. Her jaw tensed and rolled as she grinded her molars together, letting her mind replay the events of her realm walking as the conversation between Lotte and Sucy droned like white noise in her ear.

She had seen Diana. She had spoken to her, albeit _barely_ before the other girl had stopped listening completely and had called her… what? A hallucination? And then her family had rushed in, which Akko still couldn't understand because if Diana was stuck inside her own mind, why was it so _strange_? It was almost like she didn't even realized she was trapped.

And Diana hadn't even known who she _was._

"Hey, Akko?"

A hand gently shaking at her shoulder roused her from her blank stare. She turned her head and blinked back into Lotte's worried blue eyes.

"How are you feeling?" the other girl asked. Sucy sat at her desk, vigorously stirring something in a small pot that was boiling with loud pops and sizzles.

"Dead," Akko murmured.

"Don't say that," Lotte scolded. Akko felt the weight sink on one side of the bed as Lotte sat down next to her, squeezing her shoulder in a hesitant attempt at comfort. "Are you at least… feeling better?"

"I feel dead," Akko said again.

"Well, you're not," Sucy mumbled from where she stared down at her potion from behind thick goggles. "So knock it off and at least talk to us. You scared the dragon's balls off of us earlier, you could at least stop acting like a zombie."

"Sorry," Akko muttered. She forced her eyes shut and sighed. "I'm just… really tired. And really sad."

"I know, Akko." Lotte offered a sad smile. "We'll bring her back. I promise."

Akko said nothing. She just tightened her jaw and swallowed hard.

"Here," Sucy said, rising from where she sat at her desk and holding out a vial of green liquid. "I made this for you. It should help you relax. My mom used to make it for me when I had nightmares."

"I—I can't," Akko sighed, opening her eyes to peer at the light green potion and shaking her head against her pillow.

"I promise it doesn't even taste bad." Sucy's voice was softer than usual, laced with what Akko assumed to be pity. "I even used some of your tea leaves to make it more palatable."

"I can't," Akko said, turning away. "It's not that I don't appreciate it. Thank you. I just can't have any potions if I'm going to realm walk. Professor Ursula said it could interact."

"Akko," Lotte said gently, letting her hand fall from the Japanese witch's shoulder. "I… don't think anyone is going to let you try again. You had a very bad reaction. Headmistress Holbrooke was panicking."

"Ha, yeah." Sucy sneered. "Never seen her freak out so much."

"I'm trying again," Akko replied, clenching the fist that hung from the side of the bed. "And no one is going to stop me."

"Akko, really, I don't think—"

"You don't get it," Akko groaned, turning to level blazing red eyes with Lotte's. "I saw Diana. She was there, she just… I don't know. I'm not sure what happened, but she was right in front of me." She pushed herself into a sitting position, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She could feel the tears stinging in the corners of her eyes and vaguely wondered how it was possible that her body still had salinity.

"Akko," Sucy said, holding out the potion once more for emphasis, "Just take it."

"No."

"Akko—" Lotte started.

"I said _no_ ," Akko repeated, more forcefully this time. "I don't care who tells me I can't keep trying. I don't care if I have to make you bash my skull in with that stupid baseball bat. I don't care if my body gives out." The tears were streaking freely down her cheeks once more and she paid no attention to Lotte's faltering gaze. "I _will_ keep trying."

She didn't let her roommates get another word in. She _wouldn't_.

"I will try again and again," Akko said through clenched teeth. "I will try as many times as I have to. I will try until I bring Diana _back_."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Diana rolled over once more, letting a heavy sigh slip into her pillow as she opened her eyes and stared through her open window at the few lights that still dotted the dark neighbourhood. Try as she might, sleep wouldn't come. Her mind couldn't stop ruminating the events of the morning, of the Japanese girl that appeared in her room and started spouting nonsense.

She had been hallucinating, of course—that much was obvious—but there had been something very _strange_ about it. The girl had felt so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time, a sensation that Diana just couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried.

And she'd called herself Akko. Diana knew that name, of course. It was something she had brought back often from her time in the Other World, yet she had never been able to tie a face to it. It had just been the concept of a person that drifted through her mind like a refreshing summer breeze, an intangible image that slipped away at the mere attempt of recollection.

Which was probably the most bizarre aspect of her most recent hallucination. Diana remembered _everything_ , from the soft brunette hair that fell across the shoulders of the girl's white blouse and navy blue vest to the short fringe that was swept to the side above impossibly red eyes. The red sash that draped across her small waist and dangled from the side of her hip, the wand that she'd snapped from a holster that looked just like the ones she constantly doodled in her notebook.

The way she'd looked at her-with a glimmer that Diana could only identify as _intimate_.

And when the girl had touched her, had laid her hand on her bare shoulder and told her to " _Come home_ ," Diana had felt a distinct surge of familiarity that she couldn't shake. It had been almost as if she had been there before, had felt that touch, and her very blood felt like it was pulsing with a warm energy that she'd never experienced.

Diana hardly remembered her hallucinations, aside from vague concepts and very minor details. The Other World was a place she went to in a hidden corridor of her mind, an intricate labyrinth of a world that she had created within her subconscious. Reality was separate in the way that night was to day, with a few remaining rays of sun that drifted over the horizon, only to disappear entirely in the blink of an eye.

And this hadn't felt like a normal attack. Usually her body would be so drained from the rapid shift of her brainpower that she could hardly move, much less continue on with whatever activity she'd been engaged in. But she hadn't felt any of the symptoms of her usual hallucinations—instead of being exhausted, she felt like she had _more_ energy, almost as though the entire encounter had shocked her body into a state of restlessness.

She had panicked, to be sure, but only because she had been so shocked and confused at some strange girl telling her to, "Wake up," and "Come home," that she hadn't known how to react. And she _still_ didn't. Were her hallucinations evolving? Were they melding with reality? If that was the case, then her illness hadn't been dormant at all—all this time, it had been simply reformatting within her prefrontal cortex, waiting like a coiled cobra for the right moment to strike.

Diana clenched her fingers around the soft corner of her pillow, squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a low groan as she struggled to force the thoughts from her head.

She sighed, feeling herself wince into her own words. "What do you _want_ from me?"

* * *

"Akko, I completely understand where you're coming from, but there's no way Headmistress Holbrooke is going to allow you to make another attempt," Chariot was saying, a deep frown etched across her lips as she gazed at her determined student. "I'm not so sure it's a good idea, either. Your mind is too weakened in its current state to handle the effects of spirit realm walking."

Akko shook her head, eyebrows scrunching together as she glanced between Croix and Chariot. "I don't care what she thinks. And I'm strong enough for this. I know I am!"

Even without taking her potion, she had fallen into a deep, restful sleep that lasted through the night and had woken feeling refreshed and energized. Her body had long since forgotten the events of the previous day, shedding the effects like a layer of old skin. Akko was definitely of the belief that her confidence in herself had a lot to do with that.

"Besides," Akko continued, fists clenching at her sides as she met the red eyes of her mentor. "I know what to expect now. I think—I think I can probably control it a little bit better."

"Akko…"

Chariot sighed, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose between her fingers. Croix, who had been silent for the duration of the conversation, shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants and lifted her gaze to her friend.

"Char," she said, inhaling sharply in a moment of hesitation, "What if it was me?"

Chariot lowered her hand, narrowing her eyes as she turned to the lilac-haired witch. "What do you mean?"

"If… it was me, instead of Diana." Croix looked down, her fingers twitching where they rested inside of her soft pockets. "What would you do?"

Chariot grew silent. Akko watched the expression on her face change as her mentor wrapped her mind around Croix's question. With a heavy sigh, she finally said, "Croix, that is not a fair question, given the circumstances."

"I disagree," Croix countered. She pulled her hands from her pockets and folded her arms across her chest. "I very much think that it's a fair question. You know the answer to it, as do I. If Miss Kag—if _Akko_ believes that she can succeed in this, who are we to tell her she can't? Besides, if I'm not mistaken, your very motto has quite a bit to do with believing in yourself."

"Croix, this is very different. Akko has a very fragile mind at the moment. Something like this could cause irreversible damage."

"Yes, but I believe that it's Akko's decision on whether or not she wants to accept that risk. Not _ours._ "

"Croix—"

Akko coughed into a closed fist, glaring at the two bickering women. "I'm still here," she muttered. "If you want to know how I feel about it, you could just ask me, you know."

"I understand how you feel," Chariot said, feeling her patience growing thin with each passing second. "And yes, Croix, I would do whatever it takes to bring you back. But the fact of the matter is that Headmistress Holbrooke is not going to allow it." The red-haired witch raised a palm and squeezed her eyes shut. "End of story."

A moment of uneasy quiet spread between the three witches. Akko pressed her nails into the skin of her forearm, staring hard at the ground with clenched teeth. Chariot turned away and began to ready the kettle for morning tea. Croix ran her hand through her messy lilac hair, light eyebrows knit together in thought.

"Then we don't tell her," Croix said at last.

Chariot turned, hand frozen with the kettle beneath the running faucet as she stared at her counterpart. She opened her mouth to respond, but Croix cut her off before she could argue.

"If Holbrooke doesn't know what's going on, she can't be held responsible. So we won't tell her. Or anyone. You know very well that we won't be able to get an expert here in time to save Diana. She's already—" she threw a glance at Akko, whose crimson eyes had grown wide and frightened, before quietly continuing. "Anyway, we can supervise Akko. I can alter the recognition of the nervous system probes to pull her from the spirit realm before anything gets as bad as it did yesterday. We can implement heavier safety measures." Her finger caressed her chin as she stared thoughtfully at the Japanese witch. "If Akko thinks she can do this, then I think she can, too. We've seen what she's capable of, Chariot."

The water was overflowing from the kettle, pouring over the sides of the ceramic container and spilling into the sink. Chariot made no move to turn it off, instead lowering her eyes and rolling her tongue against the side of her mouth.

"Croix, you may no longer be employed here," she said finally, "But I am. I'm already on my last leg with Holbrooke's grace as it is. If she finds out I helped Akko do this…" her voice trailed off as she met Croix's teal eyes.

"Then you know nothing," Croix said quickly. " _I'll_ supervise Akko. If anything happens, I'll take the responsibility."

"That's… a heavy responsibility, Croix." Chariot finally turned off the water and frowned at the water that spilled around the kettle. "You know very well that if something _does_ happen, your future in the magical world would be questionable at best."

Croix shrugged, letting a half-smile tug at the corner of her lips as she met Akko's shocked expression. "We know very well that Akko has done greater things for the both of us. We owe her this, Char. _I_ owe her this."

Akko could tell Chariot was caving. She could feel the swell in her chest at Croix's words, at the immense pride that pounded through her veins at the praise she was hearing. Out of everyone at Luna Nova, she had hardly expected Croix to take such a bold step on her behalf.

"And Feng?" Chariot asked after a small silence.

"Oh, don't worry about her," Croix said with a confident grin. "You know Feng and I were close back in the day. I've got it covered."

Akko couldn't stop a spreading smile as she gazed at the two older witches—one with an air of authority and confidence, the other wearing a defeated frown.

"Okay, Croix," Chariot said, a heavy sigh slipping the depths of her throat. "I know nothing."

* * *

When Akko finally arrived in the clinic later that afternoon—Croix had said she needed time to manipulate her machine to heighten safety protocol—she was surprised to find that Diana's state had changed.

Not that she was moving, of course. No, she was still in the same position that she'd been in: on her back, completely motionless, easy breaths puffing from behind her lips. She was a little bit paler than she had been the day before, and the shadows that consumed the sharp lines of her face had seemed to grow, but she was the same Diana.

Though, instead of being engulfed in the bright lights of the sterile clinic bulbs, her body was bathed in green waves that trickled down over her body from four staffs that had been erected at each corner of her bed. Akko could feel the power emanating beneath her own skin as wisps of magic drifted over Diana's body, swirling around her skin in a gentle hum of energy.

"What is this?" Akko asked, narrowing her eyes as she froze with the curtain in one hand. Croix was already set up where she'd been the day before, tapping at buttons on her control panel and studying the monitors of her machine from behind thin lenses.

Croix lifted her gaze when Akko arrived, though any words that she would have uttered froze in her throat before they could leave her lips. She glanced at the new addition to the room and hummed in thought, hesitating with her answer. Though, she found she didn't have to, because Feng had appeared right behind the small witch and had heard her question.

"Life support," Madam Wong said bluntly, moving around Akko's still frame to begin fussing with the staffs. With a small adjustment, the green magic grew a little brighter. "She's been comatose for so long that her magic is withering. It's quite like a fire, if you'd like to think of it that way. Without anything to feed it, it will simply fade."

Akko felt her breath hitch. She swallowed hard as she stared at Diana, stepping slowly forward to place her fingers against the girl's warm hand. The outsourced magic shivered against her, foreign and curious as it mingled with her own.

With a rigid jaw, Akko turned her attention to Croix. "Then we need to hurry, right?"

"We…" Croix leveled teal eyes with Madam Wong's black, frowning in thought. "We have about 48 hours. Is that right, Feng?"

Madam Wong nodded, gazing sadly at the still form of the once so vivaciously alive witch. "I'm afraid not even that if her current state continues to decline at the rate in which it currently is. Time is running short."

"Alright, then hook me up!" Akko said in a rush, climbing into the bed that she'd occupied the previous day and throwing herself back against the pillow. She moved to grab Diana's hand once more, squeezing with a fervor as she set her jaw and waited as Madam Wong began to attach the familiar equipment.

"Deep breath," Madam Wong murmured.

Akko felt the needle slide beneath her skin but made no move. She chewed down on her bottom lip, red eyes locked on the side of Diana's face. The nurse's cold fingers slid beneath her shirt and pressed the heavy square pad to her skin.

"Alright," Croix said, watching while the nurse began to power up the anesthesia. "We're going to do this a little differently this time. I've set the neuro-monitor to perceive a certain trigger that will pull you back immediately. If you feel _anything_ at all that you know you shouldn't, I need you to say 'mashed potatoes'."

"Really?" Akko asked. She rolled her eyes. "You couldn't think of anything else?"

"Just say 'mashed potatoes'," Croix grumbled. "And stop asking questions. If you forget something so ridiculously simple, the machine will automatically return you to your own mind once your heartrate reaches a certain threshold. Ready?"

"Mashed potatoes," Akko replied, letting a nervous chuckle slip from her lips. "Ready."

She could hear the whirring of technology, the sudden presence of beeping and droning as the machine began to monitor her vitals. The familiar, warm haze filtered inside of her skull as two streams of green pulsed between her own source and Diana's.

"Be careful," Madam Wong murmured, settling the vaporizer over her nose and mouth. "I do _not_ need to lose my license because of Croix's loose tongue."

With one last, long glance at Diana's quiet face, Akko squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and let everything fade to black.

* * *

Diana relaxed into Luna's stride as the athletic chestnut mare rocked back onto her hindquarters and swung forward in a slow, collected canter. It was by far Diana's favorite gait—Luna was so smooth and supple beneath her that she felt like liquid, like the undulating crest of a wave. She rolled her hips with the movement, letting her hands drop to either side of the mare's withers as she guided her in a small circle within the arena.

She hadn't been able to ride the previous day. Her parents had refused to let her leave the house, worried that she might have another hallucination or that her body couldn't handle any kind of activity. So when she'd finally gotten to the stable and her mare had whinnied in greeting from where she had been grazing with the other mares, she could barely hide the elation of finally getting to do what she loved the most. The cool spring air nipped through the long sleeves of her nylon shirt, trees lining the edge of the property whistling with each brief breeze. She could hear the sounds of shod hooves on the cobblestone walkway that ran between the arenas, pasture, and massive limestone stable, though everything was merely background noise that Diana hardly ever acknowledged.

Luna's breath tumbled from her nostrils in melodic snorts with the effort of containing her muscles into the short stride that Diana was asking. Soft twitches of her fingers on the reins and barely perceptible movements of her leg muscles corrected any minor slips from the concentrated horse.

The whole ride was so peaceful, so effortless, that when Luna's muscles lurched beneath her and the mare crow-hopped to the side with a wheezing snort of fright, Diana could briefly taste the metallic sting of surprise and fear at the back of her throat as she lost both of her stirrups. A more amateur rider likely would have fallen off, but Diana was experienced and merely let instinct take over—her fingers gripped around the reins and drew Luna back into contact, her thigh muscles tightened unconsciously around the mare's barrel, and her seat moved against the twisting spine with the ease of a professional.

With a trembling breath, Diana glanced around to find the source of Luna's spook, bright blue eyes widening as her gaze fell on Akko.

"Not _again_ ," she heard herself moan.

* * *

Akko had expected to appear in the same place as the previous day—not in the middle of a fenced off space with what felt like rubber and dirt under her feet. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as she took in her surroundings, the thick smell of livestock smacking her in a wall of stench.

She was at a horse stable, _that_ much was obvious. It was nice, though not quite as equipped as the one on the Cavendish Estate. There was a long stone path that ran through, lined with towering birch trees and a seemingly endless black fence that stretched far over the hills and into the distance. Adjacent to where she stood, in another fenced off area, someone was leaping over massive obstacles on a horse whose legs _had_ to be even taller than she was. Down the stone walkway, a single person led three very obedient horses who simply followed along as though there was no rush to be anywhere.

And right near her—well, more coming _toward_ her—was a large, muscular red horse that was moving in a very slow circle. It was running, though its legs were lifting more up than forward, making it seem more like a dancer than an actual horse.

And on it was Diana.

She looked like the picturesque equestrian. In the clothes and everything. Her eyes were settled down on the horse's twisting ears, body unmoving in the saddle. A content smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. Diana had always been the exact image of poise, but here… she moved with an easy, fluid grace, not quite the sharp corrections and constant awareness of a Cavendish.

All at once, Akko felt her expression mold from admiration to horror as she realized the horse was headed _straight_ at her—Nine, why did she have the _worst_ luck?—and she threw her arms in front of her face as though that would save her from a thousand pounds of doom.

But the impact never came, and when Akko peeked through her hands she saw that the horse had instead freaked out and was spinning sideways so fast that she was sure Diana was going to fall off. But she didn't. Diana held on, almost making it look like it was no big deal that the horse was going up and sideways and everywhere but in a straight line. She calmed the horse effortlessly, and even though its nostrils were still flaring with fear, a gloved hand to the side of a sweaty neck seemed to elicit an unspoken conversation and twitching muscles slowly calmed.

She felt an icy stare on her and she looked up from the horse to find Diana staring directly at her.

"Not _again_ ," Diana groaned. Her legs were dangling, long and stirrup-less, over the side of the horse and she rocked back, dropping the reins to bury her face in her hands. With a heavy sigh, the girl dipped her torso and dismounted the large horse with ease.

"Er—sorry," Akko said, though she could hardly speak because Diana was wearing the _tightest_ pants she had ever seen her in and they hugged her in _exactly_ the right places and she was wearing these almost knee-high black boots and this form-fitting black shirt and good _Nine_ Akko could sense her mind going places that it _really_ didn't need to be and—

"Pardon me?" Diana said loudly, waving her hand in front of her face.

With a hot blush flooding her cheeks, Akko pulled her eyes from where she'd been staring and let out a long, shaky breath. "Wow, you are _hot_."

"Um." Diana's white-blonde eyebrows scrunched together and she turned to the horse, who had dipped its head obediently to let the reins be slipped over. "I can't believe this is happening here," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut as she let her forehead fall against the mare's neck, the front of her helmet keeping her skin from actually touching. "This _never_ happens here."

"Sorry," Akko apologized again, stepping forward. "I didn't mean to scare it."

"It?" Diana whirled, her long, wavy blonde ponytail swishing over her shoulders. "You mean she. I mean-why am I even talking to you? Good lord, I really am getting worse."

Luna huffed her nostrils, large ears swiveling forward. Her red tail swished around her hocks as curiosity replaced fear and she stretched her muzzle toward the newcomer.

"Um, Luna?"

Diana took a step back from her horse, reins dangling loosely between her fingers as she stared at her horse's reaction. Her blue eyes widened and she glanced quickly back to Akko, swallowing hard as she became aware of the mare's legs moving forward slowly, neck muscles rippling as she leaned toward the strange girl.

"Uh, hi," Akko said, nervously reaching out and touching the horse's soft muzzle. She could feel warm, wet breath huffing into her palm. "She's a lot bigger than Thistle."

Diana's heart was pounding furiously in her chest, the hot prickle of fear tingling at the back of her neck. "Luna, um…" she repeated in a voice that quivered with uncertainty.

"Ugh, gross!" Akko shouted when the horse snorted so hard that it sprayed her with dirt and snot. The red mare jerked her head back in surprise, ears pinning momentarily before flicking forward once again, watching attentively as the girl desperately swiped at her vest with a disgusted frown.

"I don't understand what's happening," Diana said, glancing around quickly to make sure no one else was around before lowering her voice and continuing. "Who are you?"

"Wow, overnight? Eesh. I'm that easy to forget? I'm Akko, remember?" The Japanese witch threw her hands into the air in frustration. "Ak-ko. Say it with me."

"I didn't _forget_ ," Diana groaned. "And that's not what I meant! What do you want? And if this is a hallucination, why can Luna see you?" She clenched her jaw and tilted her head back, sighing. "I've gone completely bonkers, haven't I?"

"I already told you all of this," Akko mumbled, folding her arms over her chest and kicking at the soft ground. "You're cursed and you need to wake up. I don't know what this," Akko dropped one arm and motioned in a wide arc, "is, exactly, but it's not where you're supposed to be and I would be _very_ happy if you just woke up. Besides, we really don't have that long—so if there's something I need to do, please tell me quickly, because if I lose you…" Her voice broke and she wrinkled her nose, pushing her emotions back. She couldn't let herself get upset, because then she might have an anxiety attack and send herself back unintentionally. "Just come back," she finished.

"I am very much awake," Diana countered, bringing a hand to her hip and narrowing her eyes. "And I don't understand anything of what you're saying. If you could go back to… _wherever_ it is you came from," Diana waved her hand dismissively, "That would be great."

Diana turned and the horse obediently with her. Before she could walk away, Akko stepped forward and reached out with the intent to stop her. But the tingle of her nerves and a sudden, desperate slam of her heart made her stop immediately. "Diana, wait," she called."

"Look, Akko, or whatever," Diana said, sighing and looking back at the Japanese girl. "I need you to—"

"Diana, is everything alright?"

Diana froze, gaze swiveling to find Miss du Nord striding across the arena, concern etched across her kind features. Her instructor had seen her speaking to air. _Great_. The stable was her safe space, somewhere she had never had to think about or deal with her illness, and now everyone was going to know she was an absolute freak.

"Luna didn't do something, did she?" Miss du Nord asked, reaching forward to take the mare's face between her hands and scratch across the white diamond. "Are you hurt or something?"

"Oh, no," Diana said quickly, realizing with a thrum of her already rapid pulse that her mentor hadn't even noticed her strange behavior. "I, uh—she was working hard, so I, uh… decided to end early," she stuttered.

" _Chariot_?" Akko shrieked from behind her.

Diana whirled in surprise at the girl's loud voice to find her bright red eyes wide with shock and her jaw unhinged. How did she—

"Diana, are you sure everything's alright?" Miss du Nord asked again, forcing the blonde girl's attention back to hers. "Is there something in the trees?"

"I—No." Diana brought a hand to the back of her neck and scratched nervously at her hairline before unbuckling the chin strap of her helmet. "Sorry, I just thought I heard something. Probably just the wind," she replied, wincing at her own lie.

"Alright," Miss du Nord said, nodding and letting her hands fall from Luna's face. "Well, I'll see you for our session later this week." With a final pat to Luna's sweaty neck, the lean woman turned and walked off.

Diana spun back to Akko, who looked like she had just seen a ghost or two. "How do you know her?" she hissed.

"What do you mean, how do I know her?" Akko stepped forward, staring after Chariot as she walked away. "I get it now. I get it! This is some kind of alternate reality or something. Your mom… your brother… Chariot. It makes sense. All I have to do is figure out how to get you back." She paused, bringing her fingers to her chin in thought. "Aw, but how do I do that?" she whined, stomping a foot. "I have no idea what I'm doing!"

Diana was staring at her curiously, blue eyes running over her body as though she, too, was trying to figure something out. In a quick movement, she lifted her hand and reached slowly forward. "Are you—"

As soon as Diana's fingers brushed against her cheek, Akko could feel her body reacting—and not in a good way. Her pulse throbbed against her throat, a sheen of sweat bursting from her pores like she had been covered in a blanket of searing heat. She stumbled back and felt the words slip from her lips in a rushed panic.

" _Mashed potatoes!_ "


	13. Intermission II

**INTERMISSION II**

"Hey, wake up, sleepyhead."

The blonde witch grumbled with annoyance, swiping away the finger that was prodding at her cheek. The whole school had been up _far_ too late for comfort for the pre-festival dinner, in which Amanda had somehow managed to spike the punch behind everyone's back and the entire friend group had gotten well and truly drunk before anyone even knew what had happened. Diana realized straight away and had _immediately_ ripped the cup out of Akko's hand (because she was already chugging it like it was liquid from the Nine) but she'd had no jurisdiction over anybody else. Barbara had thought it was great—that is, until she spent the entire night vomiting the contents of her stomach. Akko had passed out and snored in usual grandpa fashion as though nothing in the world was wrong, but Diana had to lay awake and _hear_ the disgusting event.

Not only that, but Amanda and Hannah had decided to have an extremely raucous make out session, and it wasn't until she started hearing moaning (the _last_ thing she wanted to hear was her roommate having sex) that she said to hell with it all and threw up sound barriers around _both_ of them.

"Leave me alone," Diana grunted, burying her face into her pillow to avoid the poking and squeezing her eyes shut. "It's too early for this."

"It's half six," Akko whispered, running her finger backwards over one of Diana's thick blonde eyebrows to disturb the hair—something she knew Diana absolutely _hated_ —to earn another irritated grunt and a swat from the girl's hand. "C'mon, babe. If classes weren't cancelled you'd have been up long ago anyway."

"It's a holiday," Diana moaned with a heavy sigh. "And _you_ didn't have to play babysitter all night. It must be nice to have a sleep potion to knock you out. Now leave me alone and occupy yourself until I'm ready to get up."

With a whine, Akko rolled over and threw her head back against the pillow. She'd already taken her awakening serum because she couldn't _wait_ to get out of bed and start celebrating. It was the day of the Imbolc Festival, and the whole school had planned an outing to Blytonbury where there would be nothing but games and festivities. The previous year had been a blast, and Akko had been looking forward to a repeat of the fun since they'd returned from the Christmas holiday.

She could hear Diana's breath slowly returning to normal when a devious grin slid across her face and she turned back to gaze at the girl's peaceful expression. Her pale lips had parted slightly, twitching as she fell back into sleep.

So Diana didn't want to get up, despite her pleas. But she had one last resort—and she was going to take advantage of it and play dirty.

Akko wrapped her arm around Diana's waist, fingers twitching at the bottom of her shirt as she ran a palm over the gentle dip of her spine and the smooth skin of her back. She kept her eyes on Diana's face the entire time, waiting for a reaction as her fingers trailed upwards, over the hills of her ribs, her soft chest.

Nothing.

Diana didn't even _move_.

With a huff of frustration, Akko dragged her finger across one of her nipples and waited for a reaction.

Nothing. Maybe a little bit of a heavier breath from her nose, but Diana was still sleeping, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted!

Akko grunted and walked her fingers down, raking her fingernails across her abdomen before dipping beneath the waistband of the other girl's shorts.

 _Nothing_.

"You've got to be kidding me," Akko muttered. She pushed her wrist lower and gently ran a finger through Diana's core, eyebrows folding together with confusion when she realized that the other girl's body had most certainly reacted to what she'd been doing. She glanced back at Diana's face to find the smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"You're awake!" Akko groaned, throwing herself back and pulling her hand away. "You tricked me!"

Diana hummed, cool blue eyes flickering open to burn into crimson as her smile grew. "No thanks to you," she mumbled, seizing Akko's retreating wrist and shoving the girl's hand roughly back into her shorts. "And if you think you're stopping what you started, you are sorely mistaken."

* * *

"Aw, yes, this is great!" Akko exclaimed.

The Japanese witch was a bundle of barely contained enthusiasm as she somehow held herself back from bolting between booths. It seemed as though _everyone_ had come out of the woodworks for the festival—there were merchants with enchanted dragon's talons that were supposed to bring their owners luck ("You are not wasting your money on one of those," Diana had scolded. "The whole thing is a complete farce."), home-baked cookies and pastries in the form of cats and Luna Nova symbols, bobbles and trinkets from faraway lands that had made Akko's eyes glaze over in wonder. She was rushing around so fast that Diana felt very much, for the second time in 24 hours, like a babysitter.

All of the friends had broken up a few hours in an unspoken agreement of privacy until the larger festival later in the evening. Akko hadn't cared in the least—she didn't mind being in the large group of friends—but Diana was relieved to finally get some alone time with the rambunctious girl. Despite her growing aggravation at being dragged _everywhere_ when she was completely exhausted, the childish enthusiasm that swirled around the other girl was admittedly extremely adorable and… well, a little contagious.

Akko was reaching contentedly into a crumpled brown bag of cookies, which she shoveled hastily into her mouth as she wandered through the very crowded Blytonbury streets. She ripped a cookie that was supposed to be shaped like a cat (in Diana's opinion, it was a very malformed blob) and shoved it into Diana's mouth before the other girl could object.

"Mmph," Diana huffed around a mouthful of the overly sweet pastry, crinkling her nose with distaste as she pulled it off her tongue and hesitantly chewed at the piece she'd bitten off. It wasn't _bad_ … it was just… well, not good. "Thanks, I suppose," she muttered.

"Check it out!" Akko shrieked, grabbing Diana's wrist and jerking the girl over to where an undulating crowd of people had gathered around a massive creature. "A Centaur!"

Sure enough, there was a massive (and very old) palomino Centaur standing on a hastily made stage and bellowing air into a bagpipe. His white tail swished around his legs as he reared back and let out a series of rhythmic bugles.

Diana had to admit that he was rather decent.

"I didn't know centaurs were real!" Akko said, grinning broadly as she turned to Diana.

"Seriously?" Diana deadpanned. "You've seen a dragon, Minotaurs, goblins," she began ticking off on her fingers, "wyverns, unicorns, a cyclops, a Cerberus, werewolves, and somehow a giant Cockatrice, still don't understand that one, and a _Centaur_ is unbelievable to you?"

But Akko wasn't paying attention, because she was already off to the next thing, which was a circus of familiars performing tricks for treats in an incredibly unimpressive show of what was advertised as "talent". A very greedy looking hag sat in front of the crude setup, happily taking donations in a massive basket from the crowd of children and very sour looking parents that had gathered around her.

Akko was fishing into her pocket to pull out some coins when Diana's hand flew to her wrist.

"Akko, _don't—_ " she started, before realizing what she was doing and lifting her hands into the air in resignation. "You know what, spend your money on what you want," she sighed.

And Akko did—she dumped a whole handful of coins into the basket, which Diana was certain had to be most of her money and she would definitely be begging the Cavendish to buy her something later.

"The cat's cute!" Akko said, pointing to the long-haired and massively overweight ginger that was supposed to be playing the piano and was instead draped over the top and basking in the sun. The only "playing" he was doing consisted of the rather irritating protest of the keys as his tail thwapped against them. "He deserves to have treats later," Akko added. "For a job well done!"

Diana brought her fingers to the bridge of her nose and pinched, hard, unable to suppress the laugh that slipped from her lips but trying her best to hide it.

By the time they'd rejoined their group of friends, Diana's feet were sore from walking the same streets of the small town multiple times. Her shoulders sagged beneath the weight of exhaustion as she trudged obediently beside the ball of endless energy that was Akko. Akko had even mad even made her play some stupid American game called Cornhole, which Diana could have certainly gone without.

The smaller witch was carrying a bag of completely useless items that Diana was sure she'd forget about in a day's time (save for the brand new Shiny Chariot t-shirt—Diana would have to deal with her sleeping in that every single night for the next three months) and struggling to keep up with an ice cream cone (which Diana had bought, because Akko had run out of money, _somehow_ ) that was dripping everywhere.

"I see your kid is enjoying the festival," Amanda joked, choking back laughter at the sight of Diana's drained expression that spelled "over it" and Akko's beaming aura.

"Uh-huh," Diana mumbled, sighing and forcing a smile that was little more than a tense flash of her teeth as Akko threw her an overjoyed grin.

"It's almost time for the show!" Akko exclaimed, shoveling the remainder of the ice cream cone into her mouth. "Cng ang wez go!"

"Please do not choke on that," Diana heard herself scold. "I do _not_ want to do the Heimlich because you decided to swallow an entire cake cone."

Not that Akko was even paying attention—once again, with the focus of a goldfish thrown into a sea of sparkling lights—she was off at a brisk walk towards the huge plaza where the crowds were slowly beginning to gather in a pulse of unrestrained energy.

The palomino Centaur was back—but this time, he had an entire band with him. Another Centaur, this one a young and very pretty female with a red roan coat (and no top on—did other species have no modesty?) and long, braided amber hair that matched her soft red tail. Her voice was good, but Diana was certain that's not why anyone was paying attention.

"Yours are better," Akko grunted, which would have been fine and maybe a little endearing if Amanda hadn't heard and wasn't stifling laughter behind Hannah's hand, which had clamped over the American witch's mouth. Diana quickly turned away and felt a rush of blood to her neck and cheeks.

The crowd grew and an excited energy throbbed around them as Luna Nova students, Blytonbury residents, and visitors from all across the surrounding areas gathered for the final show of the Imbolc Festival. While they waited, Diana chugged an entire bottle of water (and even, somehow, got Akko to hold still long enough to drink some) while she grew increasingly aggravated at the proximity of other people. Her friends were fine. She didn't mind _them_ being so close. But absolute strangers were brushing up against her and before long she felt herself breaking a sweat just trying to dodge limbs and pressing bodies.

Finally, as the last remnants of a vibrant Spring sun disappeared over the horizon, the harmonic voices of the Luna Nova Acapella Group rose above a quickly hushing crowd in a rendition of what Diana recognized to be a popular old Irish song. Spells from a few rogue students (who _knew_ they weren't supposed to use magic in town, even after the events of the Grand Triskellion) shot into the air and arced through the air, colliding together in explosions of bright colors.

She could feel Akko's hand twitch at her side—her wand side—and immediately seized the other girl's wrist. "Don't you _dare_ ," she scolded.

"Aw," Akko groaned, though Diana could hardly hear over the cheer of the crowd as the song came to an end and another slowly began. "You're such a slag."

Diana felt her eyes widen and she shot a glare at Amanda, who was cackling behind her at hearing Akko's insult, and knew immediately that the American witch had been teaching her British insults. Not that the devious witch even knew the best ones, but Diana wasn't _about_ to introduce her to them.

"That does not mean what you probably think it does!" Diana shouted over the crowd, but, once again, Akko was definitely not listening to what she was saying.

"Just relax for once and enjoy the show!" Akko yelled back, throwing the blonde witch a grin and letting her fleeting attention get drawn into her surroundings once more.

Loud explosions ricocheted from the walls of the buildings surrounding the plaza and loud, whistling displays of light shot into the air. Somebody had managed to acquire fireworks for the show—not only that, but the _good_ ones. Vibrant hues of light burst against the night sky, flickering in bright, ornate patterns and fading before another took its place. Despite her exhaustion, the pulse of bodies pressing against her, and the sheer longevity of the entire day, Diana felt herself smiling.

She snaked her arm around Akko's waist, tugging the other girl close to her side with a content sigh. She could feel the other witch's muscles tense with the sudden touch, the bewildered glance that was sent her way before her expression molded into one of pure joy. Diana was _not_ the type of girl to partake in something like public affection, so she knew exactly the reason for Akko's fleeting disbelief, but the moment in itself was something she couldn't escape. The brilliant display of lights, the cheering and happy crowd of strangers, the upbeat music that made her want to bounce on her toes (she didn't—she still had _some_ self-control). It all just felt… good.

As the final display of fireworks shot into the air and melded together in a wild, bursting flash of rainbow lights, Diana turned her head to find herself staring at the side of Akko's grinning face. The other girl turned, sensing the stare, and Diana could see the entire spectrum of colors flickering within bright red. She couldn't help it—she didn't _want_ to, even—when she sucked in air and leaned forward to press her lips against Akko's.

For a moment, the other girl kissed her back, before her lips slid into a hard smile against Diana's mouth and the blonde witch was very well aware that Akko was laughing.

"What's so funny?" She grumbled, pulling away and narrowing her eyes at Akko's amused face.

"Diana." Akko's shoulders rocked with laughter as she raised an eyebrow and met the confused blue hues that stared back at her. Diana's pale face was dusted with a cherry red blush that was obvious even in the darkness. "That was the _gayest_ thing you have _ever_ done."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Akko felt like she was being held underwater. Her lungs constricted tight in her chest, begging for air as wave after wave rolled over her body. She could sense herself gasping, her mouth opening and closing as she desperately sucked in shallow breaths.

"You're alright, Akko. Just focus on breathing."

She could barely make sense of the garbling voice at her side. She tried to sit up, but felt a hand on her shoulder holding her tightly down. Someone moved around her and she felt cold hands pulling roughly at different areas of her body.

Remembering the breathing technique that Madam Wong had taught during one of their sessions, she started to use it. In through the nose, out through the mouth, in through the mouth, out through the mouth. Again and again in an endless pattern until she could feel her desperately quivering muscles slowly relaxing, the pain that throbbed in her chest fading into a dull memory. The clouds that fogged her eyes drifted away to find Croix hovered at her side, Madam Wong carefully putting away all the medical equipment that had previously been attached to her body.

"Gotta—get—back," Akko wheezed, dry lips pressing together as she gulped down a long breath of air. She could feel the sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead and upper lip, her hair damp against her scalp. Her entire body felt weak and exhausted and she desperately just wanted to nap, but she knew that she had to get back to Diana. They were running out of time and she was running out of ideas.

Croix shook her head, lilac hair swaying against her shoulders. Her shadowed eyes did nothing to hide her own frustration. "Not today, Akko," she said, pushing the girl back down when she tried, once more, to sit up. "You're in no condition to try again. It would be too dangerous. We'll go back after you get some rest, alright?"

Akko snorted with the effort of fighting against Croix's hand, clenching her clammy hands against the bright white sheets of the small bed. "But time is—"

"Short. I know. We'll get her back, Akko. For now, we need to get you back to your room so you can get some rest."

Akko turned away from Croix, blinking away from the fringe that was plastered against her forehead and tickling her eyes, to find Diana. The green glow of magic engulfed her body, making her look almost surreal.

"Can I—" She hesitated, squeezing her fists tight and swallowing more air. "Can I stay here? With Diana?"

Croix blinked up to Madam Wong, assessing the nurse for a response that she didn't feel entitled to give. With a deep breath, the nurse offered a slow nod.

"That would be… fine," she said after a moment, hand lingering against the railing at the foot of the bed. "I've already told the Headmistress that this area is too volatile for the presence of anyone more than myself. A—lie, obviously," she added at Croix's raised eyebrow. "But seeing as Miss Kagari is expected in class tomorrow…"

"I'll take care of that," Croix muttered, standing up straight and folding her arms over her chest. "Akko, you have the flu, right?"

Akko turned her head back to her former instructor, eyebrows knitting in confusion. "No?"

Croix rolled her teal eyes, shaking her head and moving her lips in what Akko knew was a disguised insult, before saying, "Yes, you do. Akko has the flu. I'll let Char—Professor Ursula know that she is too ill to attend her classes. But I'll be returning after, if that's alright, Feng. That way as soon as Akko is ready, we can send her back in."

Madam Wong nodded once more, sighing heavily as she finished putting away the equipment before muttering, "I swear, if I lose my license over this—Croix, just make sure you bring the girl some food, would you?" she added before tossing the curtain aside and stalking off.

"Alright, Akko. You rest and let me know when you're feeling better. And don't _lie_ ," she added, countering whatever was about to come out of the girl's opening mouth, "because the better you feel, the more time you'll have in the spirit realm. And time is everything. Now is there anything I can bring you from the cafeteria?"

Akko squeezed her eyes shut, rolling over onto her side to face Diana and taking the girl's hand in her own to give it a small squeeze. "Just… anything but mashed potatoes."

* * *

Akko didn't know how long she slept—it could have been anywhere from half an hour to a full eight for all she knew. And she would have kept sleeping, too, had it not been for Madam Wong's kind voice rousing her from slumber.

"Miss Kagari," the nurse said gently, placing an arm on Akko's shoulder and giving her skin a small squeeze.

"Eh?" Akko's eyes flickered slowly open, the fog of her vision clearing. Her skin was tingling in a strange way that made her feel on edge, and it wasn't until she noticed that she was clutching Diana's arm to her body that she realized it was foreign magic transfer. She turned her head to blink sleepily up at Madam Wong.

"I believe you roommates are here to pay you a visit. I would prefer they not stay long as it is near curfew and you need rest, but I will permit them to stay for a while if that's alright with you."

"Yeah," Akko grunted in approval, vaguely aware that she was stroking the soft skin of Diana's forearm. She rolled onto her back, finding Madam Wong gazing down at her with a terse smile of remorse.

"I'll send them in," she said quietly, letting her hand slide from Akko's shoulder. "And I would advise you not to interact with her bo—with Diana too much. That is medical magic that is primarily for the use of restoring lost power. The additional magic will heighten your anxiety."

Akko nodded, pushing herself up into a sitting position. For the first time, she noticed Croix passed out in a chair nearby, arms splayed to the sides with an open book in her lap. Her mouth hung open as low, grunting snores filtered from her lips.

"Akko! Oh—sorry Miss Meridies, I didn't know you were here."

The former professor snorted awake at Lotte's shrill voice, nearly dropping the book but regaining it after scrunching up a few pages. Her teal eyes narrowed into a glare at the two students slipping through the curtain and into the room.

"Hey," Akko said back, lips spreading in a welcome grin. "You two must have guessed where I was."

"Well, when you never came back to the room, we kind of figured you got your way." Sucy shrugged and stepped forward, dark eyebrows stitching together as she analyzed the rods surrounding Diana's bed and the green light that pulsed over the girl's motionless body. "Interesting," she hummed, cupping her chin in thought. "Life support, eh?"

"Life support?" Lotte reeled back at the other girl's comment, worried eyes darting to Diana. "She's on _life support_? And how do you even know what that is, Sucy?"

Sucy shot the Finnish witch a glare. "Uh, I've studied basic magic medicine to get an idea of fatal effects of certain poisons on the body," she stated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How else would I know how powerful a poison is?"

"You're right," Lotte grumbled, rolling her eyes. "I should have known."

"Please don't mess with that," Croix scolded as Sucy started waving her hands in front of the snaking green tendrils to interrupt the flow of magic. Akko could see Diana's lips twitching as though in a muted conversation with herself.

"Huh, weird," Sucy murmured, taking a step back.

Lotte pulled up a chair next to Akko's bed and took a seat, scrutinizing the Japanese witch from behind her thick lenses. "You look awful," she said, reaching up to push Akko's stringy fringe from her eyes and smooth the side of her hair with her fingers. Akko found herself leaning into the touch—it felt good. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Well, I don't _feel_ that bad," Akko replied, grateful for Lotte's fingernails against her scalp as the other girl raked some knots out of her limp hair. "Besides, Croix's watching out for me."

Croix grunted from her chair, where she had lifted her book and was once again reading through it as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. Akko could make out the title: _Dream Realms and Magical Properties_. She was doing research. Maybe she'd find something helpful for their next attempt.

"Cool," Sucy was whispering to herself as she sifted through Madam Wong's multiple vials of liquids in a nearby cabinet. "She has minotaur urine. I could concoct so many different variations of my recipes with this. Do you think she'd notice if I—"

" _No_ ," Akko and Lotte said in unison.

"Aw, it's not like she would miss it. Besides, there's plenty of minotaurs around here to pee in a cup for her, and it'd be weird if _I_ asked one—"

" _No_!" her two roommates repeated, more forcefully.

Sucy rolled her eyes and returned the vial. "Whatever," she mumbled.

"So how is it going?" Lotte asked, turning her attention back to Akko and letting her hand drop back down to the bed, much to Akko's disappointment. "Have you made any progress?"

"Um…" Akko frowned, glancing at Diana's quiet face and unmoving features. Her eyes looked a little more sunken, a little more tired, and the usual glow of her hair was losing its luster. She hesitated before saying, "I'm not sure how to answer that."

"There's been some progress," Croix spoke up from behind her book. She lowered her glasses on her nose and peered at the three girls with squinted eyes. "The key to spirit realm walking is to recognize the state of the host in order to return the spirit to the correct realm. We have—well, Akko has—identified that Diana's spirit is in a limbo of sorts. The curse has manifested in a way to cause enough confusion as to where the host can no longer discern the original dimension. According to this text," she motioned to the book in her arms, "Akko just needs to find a trigger to remind the spirit of its origin."

Sucy was watching Croix from where she stood beside Lotte, maroon eyes narrowed in thought. "And what kind of trigger would that be?" she asked.

Croix straightened up, running a hand through her scattered lilac locks as her eyes fell on Diana. "The trigger would vary based on the scenario, but usually it's a reminder of her own reality—an item, maybe, or a specific word. Something important and easily recognizable." She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "I'd say we've made progress in the sense that Akko has associated herself with the spirit's current pseudo-reality and expected behavior."

A trigger? Akko's dark eyebrows folded together as she stared down at her fidgeting hands. So she would need to find out what that was—and if there was one game she wasn't good at, it was _guessing_. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Akko," Lotte reassured, offering her roommate a comforting smile when her red eyes blinked back open. "You know Diana really well, if there's anyone who can figure it out, it's you."

"Girls." Madam Wong's torso appeared around the curtain. "It's time for you to get back to your room. Curfew is in 15 minutes."

"Aw, alright," Lotte sighed, smile drifting back into a frown. "Are you staying here tonight, Akko?"

"Yeah," Akko said, only half paying attention as her mind turned over the possibilities of triggers. A spell, maybe?

"Madam Wong," Sucy spoke up, turning an inquiring gaze to the nurse. "I see you have multiple vials of minotaur urine, and I was just wondering—"

"Absolutely not, Miss Manbavaran," Madam Wong scolded, pulling the curtain open for the two girls to leave. "Those are for medical purposes, not your rudimentary experiments."

"Fine," Sucy grumbled, walking away without even glancing back at Akko. "But if you ever find yourself in possession of too much piss, please let me know."

" _Sucy_ ," Lotte said, rolling her eyes. She offered one final sad smile to Akko before saying, "Goodnight," and following the lavender-haired girl. Madam Wong, shaking her head, trailed after the two.

Croix stood, setting the book down on the table next to Diana and leveling a gaze at Akko. "Any ideas on what that could be?" she asked, analyzing the Japanese witch's thoughtful expression. "It should be something that will remind her of—"

"I have an idea!" Akko chirped, grinning as she stared over Diana to the possessions that lay next to Croix's newly placed book.

Croix's teal eyes followed her gaze to Diana's Luna Nova uniform, which was stacked beneath her robe, hat, sash, and—

"Her wand!"

Croix scratched at her temple, nodding thoughtfully. "That… might work," she agreed. "That item may be familiarization enough to bring the knowledge of her home realm. Good thinking, Akko."

Akko nodded with excitement, sitting up a little bit more. "Alright, great. Hook me up, let's go."

The lilac-haired witch couldn't stop the chuckle that filtered through her lips as she turned back to the excited girl. "In the morning, Akko. You look exhausted. Get some more rest."

Akko frowned—though she couldn't really argue. She was _tired_. With a heavy sigh, she settled back against her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut. She could sense Croix moving around for a little while before ultimately growing silent.

All she had to do was remind Diana where she was meant to be—where home was. Her wand would _definitely_ do that, right? After all, it was something the girl carried with her every day, had used for _years._

Besides, if it wasn't her wand… Akko honestly didn't know where else to turn.

* * *

Diana grumbled to herself as she shoved her flashcards across her desk, leaning back in the wooden chair and closing her eyes. She didn't even know _why_ she was still trying to study. She hadn't retained any of it because she just couldn't get her mind off Akko and her most recent hallucinations.

She stared blankly at her Google search results, where she'd tried to find some kind of answer for what had been happening to her. Not that she'd expected someone else in the world to see some strange girl named Akko who appeared at the most random times and said the strangest stuff, but she was hoping she could find someone that at least related in what she had been experiencing.

But… nothing.

With a sigh, she slammed her MacBook shut and stared through her window at the darkness of the late evening, at the few lights that still lingered in the flats across the street. It had started raining right around suppertime, and the drops streaked sideways down the glass pane. At least it would be a comfortable night to sleep—the rain always lulled her into her dreams, and she was so exhausted she was sure she would drift off as soon as her head hit the pillow.

A noise in the hall made her whirl for what felt like the hundredth time that night. She'd been so ridiculously on edge since Akko had appeared once more that she couldn't help but think it would happen again. But it was all so _random_. Both times, there hadn't been any common denominator that could have predicted it. Her hallucinations usually came when she was stressed out or very tired, and neither time had her mood met those criteria. Especially riding Luna—the mare always gave her a quiet mind.

But the noise wasn't Akko, of course. It was her mother, who appeared in the doorframe with a calm smile. "Finished studying?"

Diana nodded, rising to push her chair in and flick off her desk lamp. "I am."

"I hope the test goes well, then." Bernadette stepped forward, pushing blonde hair behind her ears. "I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Wong tomorrow for after school. She had a cancellation and was able to fit you in. Is that alright?"

Nodding again, Diana glanced over to her unmade bed, a deep frown etching across her lips. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Bernadette said, stepping forward. "You never have to be sorry for something you can't control."

Diana reached up and scratched at her temple as she stared at her shuffling feet, at the blue and red striped socks that her mother had given her as a gift for Christmas. She _knew_ that she couldn't control her hallucinations or the sudden onset of her illness. But she felt like she _should—_ after all, it was her own mind, and everyone else seemed to be able to behave normally. She gnawed at her bottom lip, which already had a sore on the inside from chewing on it, and sighed.

Bernadette could sense her daughter's turmoil. Reading both her and Damien's emotions had become secondhand, even if they weren't standing in front of her. She assumed it was a mother's sixth sense, something that came with bringing a being into the world with her own flesh and blood, but she couldn't be certain. In a fluid motion, she strode to Diana and engulfed the girl in a tight hug, feeling the slightly shorter girl sink gratefully into her arms.

"Thanks," Diana mumbled into her mother's shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut and resting in the warmth of affection. Her mother always seemed to know what she needed and when she needed it, and this was no exception. She could feel her mother's fingers threading through her thick hair, kneading at the back of her neck in loving reassurance.

"It's all going to be okay, dear," Bernadette hummed, rocking her daughter gently just like she used to when she was young. She was nearly an adult now—or she would be in just a couple of short weeks, and the older woman couldn't discern when Diana made the transition from a bubbling girl to a beautiful young woman. But she had, and she had done so carrying a larger burden than Bernadette could have ever imagined. She was proud, but also so undeniably scared for the girl's future. She would be there for her as long as she could, but that obviously wouldn't be forever. "I love you, Diana," she added, smiling into the girl's hair.

"I love you too, mum," Diana murmured. "You're my favorite person."

"And you're mine."

Diana made no move to let go, and so neither did Bernadette. She sighed into her mother's familiar embrace, grateful for the woman who had carried her so far, had believed in her the whole time. She didn't know what she would have done without her mother, who had been her rock for so long that Diana wasn't sure what she would do when the day came for her to stand alone.

* * *

As Akko's fingers ran over the handle of the wand, smooth from years of use in Diana's hand, she mulled over the prospective scenario. All she had to do was convince Diana to take her wand and hopefully the other girl would remember exactly where she was from.

She _had_ to. They had less than 24 hours.

"Don't forget," Croix was saying as she powered up the machine, source magic flowing readily between the two girls, "Mashed potatoes."

"How could I forget," Akko grumbled, rolling her eyes and leaning forward to meet the mask that Madam Wong pressed over her face. She settled down against the pillow, letting her fingers tickle the back of Diana's hand as she took a deep breath and disappeared.

When the darkness that was her world cleared into Diana's, Akko wasn't surprised, this time, to find herself standing somewhere completely new.

She was in the middle of a classroom—not one like Luna Nova lecture halls, where benches ascended to the back of the room. This one was flat, with multiple tables, all filled with students and facing the front, which held a whiteboard, an overhead projector that wasn't turned on, and… Professor Lukic?

Akko narrowed her eyes for a moment, then rolled her shoulders in a shrug. There was already Diana's whole family and Chariot, so it didn't shock to her to see another familiar face. Though, that didn't stop her from being wholly unexcited at seeing an authority figure, especially one so, well, _unnerving_.

"Fuck."

Akko glanced to her right, where Diana sat hunched over a few pieces of paper. The girl's blue eyes had shifted to the side, eyeing her warily.

"Did you just swear?" Akko muttered, taking a step backwards to calm her racing heart while at the same time peering over Diana's shoulder to see what she was working on. She recognized none of it.

"Not now," Diana groaned to herself, turning away and pressing her palm into her forehead. "I'm taking an exam."

"Oh." Akko frowned. She seemed to always catch Diana at a bad time.

Wait, that didn't matter, this wasn't Diana's stupid world anyway and she needed to get back to her own _pronto_ , so who cared what was going on?

But Akko at least knew that the other girl would be less inclined to have a conversation, much less take a wand, in front of a bunch of other silent students. So she said, "I'll wait, then," and decided to explore Diana's new world instead.

Diana sighed heavily, but sank down a little lower in her chair and actively avoided Akko as she continued taking her test. She didn't have much time left as it was and there was still the short answer section, so she had to concentrate if she wanted to finish. She was vaguely aware of the strange girl wandering through the room and prodding at things, but she made a purpose not to look.

Akko hummed as she bent down in front of Hannah, reaching out to poke at her nose and finding her finger passing right through. "Weird," she muttered to herself, studying the girl's face. She watched the girl's brown eyes glance down awkwardly and followed her eyes to find her staring at something in her lap.

"Hey, she's cheating!" Akko blurted out. Hannah had her phone hidden between her legs and was most _definitely_ looking at answers she'd typed out.

Diana's eyes shot up momentarily, but then she just grumbled something that sounded an _awful_ lot like another word that real Diana would never say.

Barbara was there, too, right next to Hannah. She wasn't cheating, though, and she looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. The black-haired girl was on the last page of the exam and was scribbling furiously.

There were other familiar faces, too. Avery, back in one of the far corners. Wangari, too.

And even Andrew, who was sitting right behind Diana. He kept lifting his eyes to stare at the back of Diana's head before going back to whatever he was drawing on a blank notebook. Apparently he had completed his exam. Akko stalked over and glanced down with nosy curiosity.

He was writing _DIANA HANBRIDGE_ with little hearts around it. Akko's eyebrows knit together as a loud laugh slipped from the back of her throat. She covered her mouth with her hand and snickered into it, glancing back at Diana, who had looked over her shoulder before returning to her test.

"How cute," she said, watching as he filled in one of the hearts with his pencil and pierced it with a crude arrow while staring at Diana's hair with a dreamy look in his eyes. "He likes you! Too bad you're a big gaybo."

"Pardon?" Diana's head shot up and she almost whirled, blue eyes wide, but Lukic lifted her head from where she sat at her desk and glared. "Please shut up," Diana grumbled. The girl seated next to her glanced over and looked at the blonde curiously, but just casually shrugged and went back to her own exam.

Akko frowned and let herself settle into silence, knowing that she wouldn't get what she wanted accomplished if she pissed the other girl off. After all, this Diana was equally stubborn as the real Diana. Twisting the handle of the wand in her sash, she moved over to the window and rocked back onto her heels, watching the slow movement of the thick grey clouds and the misty drizzle that fell against a very pretty looking courtyard. It almost looked like the one at Luna Nova—actually, she took that back. It _was_ the same courtyard from Luna Nova. Of course. Made sense.

Suddenly, Lukic shrieked, "Time's up! Turn in your exams and get out," from behind her and Akko leapt back in surprise. Chairs scraped against the floor with a grinding squeak that made the hair on her arms stand up as every single student rushed to gather their belongings and leave the classroom. Diana stood slowly, glancing over her shoulder and frowning at the sight of Akko still there, before slinging her bag over her shoulder and taking the exam to the front of the class.

"Hey, wait up," Akko said as she rushed after. It was crowded, and students were everywhere, but Akko found that she could effortlessly walk _through_ them which was super strange and rather unnerving but handy nonetheless.

"Hey, want to have tea together?" Andrew asked right as Akko was nearing. The Japanese girl watched as Diana waved her hand in the air in a quick dismissal.

"Not today, Andrew," Diana grunted, earning a nod from the tall young man who looked disappointed but unbothered as he moved off on his own in a different direction.

"I need you to go," Diana murmured from the corner of her mouth as Akko caught her stride and walked next to her, cautiously leaving some space between them. "I do _not_ need people thinking I'm a—"

"Hey, freak, talking to yourself again?"

Hannah was laughing as she walked by Diana. The girl flipped her red braid over her shoulder and strode on by. Barbara, on the other side, slammed into the back of Diana's shoulder and followed suit, muttering, "Spaz," under her breath.

"Wow," Akko said, staring after the two girls with shocked red eyes. "That was mean. They're supposed to be your best friends!"

"Friends?" Diana faked a laugh, rolling her eyes and shoving by a few students who were chatting in the middle of the hall (couldn't they move off to the _side_?) and heading over to an empty area near a window. "Yeah, right."

"Look, I need to talk to you, it's—"

She lost her train of thought as her gaze fell on very familiar lavender hair that belonged to a girl with a confident smirk and an arm full of books. "Sucy?"

Diana followed Akko's eyes, scrunching her eyebrows together and rolling her shoulders in a shrug as she came to a stop. "I suppose. I don't know her name, she's new. And a bit strange."

"Ah, whatever. Her name is Sucy. She's cool, you should meet her. But yeah, she is kind of strange—wait, what am I saying? You _know_ her. Look, can we talk somewhere?"

Diana tilted her head back and let out a pained groan. "I can't believe this is happening at school. Fine, if it'll make you go away." She turned to the window so people couldn't see her talking. "I have a free period, anyway. Let's go somewhere private so people don't see me talking to myself."

A girl nearby was _already_ side-eyeing her nervously.

"You're not talking to yourself," Akko grumbled as she followed Diana once more. "You're talking to me."

Diana said nothing, but instead led the Japanese witch through a series of hallways. As they walked, Akko founding herself looking around curiously. The school was not really anything like Luna Nova on the inside. It was old, but at the same time very modern, if that was possible. Like they had upgraded everything. Not quite so modern as schools back in Japan, especially with the lack of technology, but… remodeled, at least.

Diana walked hurriedly with her head down and eyes trained on the ground in front of her. There was no semblance of the girl from Luna Nova, whose long strides and confident posture put off an air of importance and self-awareness. This wasn't even the same girl who Akko had seen riding the horse with graceful ease. No, this Diana shrank into herself, closed herself off from others around her.

The blonde girl pushed her way through some large double doors and led Akko into the same courtyard that she had been staring at earlier. A group of girls were standing in the corner near a column chatting, and Akko recognized them immediately as the Green Team and Lotte. Without thinking, she raised her hand in a wave to her Finnish friend, but quickly remembered that no one but Diana could see her and let it drop back to her side with an embarrassed blush.

Finally, Diana stopped on the far side of the courtyard where no one was around. And rightfully so—it was kind of cold and damp, and the mist was stinging the side of Akko's face uncomfortably.

"Alright," Diana mumbled, folding her arms across her chest and whirling to face the brunette. "What do you want?"

"Oh." Akko paused, studying Diana for the first time that day—she hadn't had a chance to even look because her head had been down or she'd been rushing away—and feeling a heat rise into the tips of her ears. She was wearing a school uniform that wasn't _entirely_ unlike the one they wore at Luna Nova, except her vest, blazer, and tie were black. Akko glanced down at the long stockings, the short skirt that Diana had _clearly_ altered to be shorter, and chuckled. "And you say my skirt is short."

Diana's blonde eyebrows scrunched together and she glanced down at Akko's skirt. She rolled her shoulders in a shrug and looked back up with an expression that clearly said, ' _so what?_ '

"Oh, right." Akko cleared her throat, reaching to her side and unholstering the wand that she'd brought. "I brought you this. To remember. Here, take it."

She flicked the wand to extend it and turned it in her hands, pushing the handle towards the girl who was shuffling uncomfortably and glancing around as if someone else was going to appear at any moment.

Diana recognized the item from her hallucinations—it was always one that stuck with her—and drew a deep breath. She shook her head and stepped back. "That's not real," she said, clenching her teeth and rolling her jaw as she stared at the wand in Akko's hand.

"Yes it is." Akko pushed the wand out for emphasis, raising crimson eyes to study Diana's face. The blonde girl looked confused and, honestly, kind of scared. "Take it. Please."

"Is this some kind of a trick?" Diana asked, though she did look genuinely curious. She slowly reached forward, wrapping her fingers around the handle of the wand and taking it cautiously from the other girl.

Akko shook her head. "No trick. Just… try to remember home, I suppose? I know you don't really know what's going on, and that's fine, but we are really running out of time and I just need you to remember where you belong. That's what Croix said, anyway."

Diana turned the light metal rod in her hand, sucking in air as she analyzed it. "Remember where I belong?" She squinted her eyes and swallowed. "I don't get it."

Akko hummed. "You will. Just… give it a minute."

The witch took the moment of quiet to glance around the courtyard, finding the group of girls once more. Amanda had turned and was eyeing Diana curiously, though not from a place of hostility—she just looked intrigued and maybe a little concerned.

"Where am _I_?" Akko asked after a moment, turning her attention back to Diana.

Diana looked up, cool blue eyes meeting red before regarding the wand in her hand once more. "Pardon?"

"Everyone's here," Akko stated. "Your family. Chariot. Andrew. Hannah. Barbara. Sucy and Lotte, too. _Everyone_." She raised one hand and gestured back to the group of girls for emphasis. "This is like some kind of weird alternate reality. So where am I?"

"I'm not certain what you mean," Diana mumbled, pushing the wand back to Akko. "I don't know an Akko. I have never seen you before in my life. And here's this… wand," she added, hooking the thumb of her spare hand under the strap of her bag. "I don't know what this is supposed to do, but it's not doing anything."

"There's no…. me?"

Akko's brows stitched together as she glanced between Diana's quiet face and the wand being held out to her.

"Uh, no," Diana said, shrugging. "And please, take this thing back."

Akko felt herself frowning. Her breath hitched in her throat and she swallowed hard as she reached back out and took the wand. "It's… it's not working," she said, more to herself than the other girl. She took a deep breath, feeling her eyes misting as she searched Diana's face as though maybe it held some kind of answer. "Why isn't this working?" she asked, feeling her nose twitch as she fought off frustrated tears. She couldn't let herself get emotional—she _had_ to get Diana back—but all at once it slammed her that, in this world, she didn't even _exist_ to Diana. It was like she had been erased completely from the other girl's life.

And this Diana was… okay… with that?

"Um." Diana narrowed her eyes, analyzing the change of emotion in the other girl's face as she lowered her now empty hand to her side. "You can… go now? If that's all? I don't need to be seeing things at school."

Akko could feel her eyes soften as she watched Diana's lips move. Her heart rate was lifting, drumming through her body in an uncomfortably quickening rhythm. Akko didn't want to give up—she couldn't—and the words to pull her out of the spirit realm hung behind her teeth, though she didn't utter them. Darkness ebbed into the corners of her vision, but she tried to fight it off.

"How can I bring you back?" Akko whispered, desperation blending with the pain that laced her voice as she stared into impassive blue eyes.

But she didn't get an answer. Not that she would have, anyway.

The darkness took over, swallowing her mind like the crash of a wave, and Akko felt herself falling away.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

As Akko shuddered back into reality, she could hear Croix yelling from nearby—where exactly the older witch was, Akko couldn't tell.

"Why would you _let yourself_ stay in there? You _stupid_ girl!"

Akko tried to respond but instead choked on her own words. She could feel her back arching off the bed as she struggled to take some of the pressure off her spine, which ached as her back muscles rocked with spasms. Her teeth clamped together and she squeezed her eyelids hard as a pained groan hummed inside her skull. Her nostrils flared with the effort of calming her lungs.

Tears coursed from the outside corners of her eyes and leaked down her temples and into her hair. She couldn't stop them—she didn't even know where they _came_ from—but she didn't particularly care. She had to get _back._ The wand didn't work, but something else would, and Akko would go to the end of the world to find it.

Diana's shape blurred through the mist coating Akko's red eyes. Her fists clenched at her sides, knuckles white against the crumpled sheets of the bed as she tried to squirm away from Madam Wong's hands. She didn't want her to remove the equipment. She _couldn't_ remove it. There wasn't enough time, they had maybe a dozen hours at most, and the blonde witch was withering right in front of them.

"Let me—go—" Akko moaned, reaching up with one hand and slapping at the nurse's hands. She could feel Croix holding her roughly to the bed, clicking with distaste through pursed lips.

"Stop it, Akko," the lilac-haired witch spat, pressing more weight into the palm against the girl's chest and moving the other to hold her sweating forehead. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Off!" Akko moaned, taking a long, shuddering breath through her nose. "Get off!"

" _Akko!"_

The surprise of Croix's bellowing voice made her still instantly. She stared up at the witch through the clouds that still hovered in her irises, wheezing through slightly parted lips, feeling her muscles quaking throughout her body.

"Calm down," Croix said, returning her voice to its normal volume once she managed to get the Japanese witch's attention. She loosened her grip, sighing heavily as she glanced over at Madam Wong, who had backed off when limbs had started flailing. Hesitantly, the nurse moved forward and, once again, began disconnecting the equipment.

"It didn't work," Akko moaned, fingers seeking out the wand in her sash as she clamped it in her hand. "It didn't work!"

"It's okay, Akko. Just breathe, alright? You're making everything worse."

Akko felt a hard swallow lock in the middle of her throat and she groaned once more, twitching her tongue in her mouth in an effort to focus on something— _anything_ —that wasn't the ache in her lungs or the pain in her heart. She could feel the snot leaking out of her nose, fresh tears spilling endlessly into her already damp hair.

" _What_ in _Jennifer's name_ is going on in here?"

Akko could barely move her head for Croix's hand still holding her down, but she didn't have to see a face to know who that voice belonged to.

Headmistress Holbrooke flung the curtain aside and stormed into the small area. Her face was so red that Akko was sure that steam was going to start coming from her ears. She watched as Madam Wong immediately dropped away in the middle of removing the needle from Akko's arm and the young witch flinched with a grunt of pain as it twisted and stabbed into the top layer of her skin. Croix, noticing the source of Akko's discomfort, reached down and ripped the needle from the girl's arm and threw it unceremoniously onto the ground.

"How _dare you_?" Headmistress Holbrooke was shouting. In an angry fit, she ripped off her hat and threw it onto the ground. "I told you that Miss Kagari wasn't to attempt realm walking again—I _specifically_ told _you_." Her finger jabbed in Madam Wong's direction. A trickle of sweat was running down the nurse's temple as she shrank a little bit farther back into a cart of medical equipment.

"And _you_."

The Headmistress whirled to face Croix, eyes widening as the flustered woman struggled to figure out what to say. "I allow you onto the school's property, _despite_ your ongoing ban from the premises, and you go out of your way to endanger students' lives once again!"

"That's not—" Croix started. Akko watched as a dark flush crept into the older woman's cheeks. She held fast, her fingers clenching slightly against Akko's chest.

"I will have you removed at _once!_ "

For the first time, Akko noticed the presence of more than the Headmistress—behind her stood Aunt Daryl, Maril, Merrill, and the Hanbridges. All were staring at the scene in a state of shock. Aunt Daryl, whose eyes were puffy and lined with red, was at the fore of the group.

"Stop it!" Akko heard herself yelling, straining against the sudden expulsion of much needed air. Her body lurched as she opened her mouth and gulped in more with a wheezing gasp before speaking again. "We're—trying—to—help!"

"And I see that's working out _very_ well," the Headmistress seethed, burying her face into an open palm as she turned to regard the group of startled visitors. "I am so sorry for this, Miss Cavendish, Mister Hanbridge. I assure you I had no idea that this," she waved at the panicked nurse, a glowering Croix, an obviously distraught Akko, "was occurring." The older woman was trying to bring her voice back down to a natural tone, but was failing miserably.

Akko felt her bloodshot red eyes fall on Andrew, who was staring at her with a concerned expression. The two made eye contact with what felt like an entire, fleeting conversation. The silent exchange seemed to embolden the poised young man to step forward.

"If I may ask, Headmistress, could you please fill us in on… whatever is going on?" he asked, one eyebrow quirked. He could feel his father's surprised glare burning into the back of his skull, but easily shoved his irritation away.

"They've been sending Miss Kagari into Miss Cavendish's spirit realm in an attempt to bring her back," the Headmistress clarified, nose scrunching with distaste. "This is the work of a trained professional, in which Miss Kagari clearly is _not_ , and is much too dangerous to attempt which is why I vetoed a continuance. Miss Kagari," the Headmistress shot a surprisingly empathetic stare in the witch's direction, "could very well harm herself in the process, not to _mention_ drastically drains Miss Cavendish's own magic and cuts hours off of her remaining time."

Well Akko hadn't known _that_. She shot a confused glance at Croix, who looked away.

"Well, Akko looks fine to me," Andrew replied, shoving his hands into his pockets and straightening as he met the Headmistress's inquisitive gaze. "And it seems you are doing little in the way of attempting a recovery. Isn't that why we're here?"

While Andrew spoke, Aunt Daryl was stepping tentatively towards Diana. She reached forward, closing her eyes in a brief gathering of resolve, before settling a gentle hand on the girl's arm. "I was informed we were unable to find a specialist that could reach her in time." She lifted her gaze to Headmistress Holbrooke after a fleeting glance to Akko. "I must say I'm not entirely confident in this… witch's… abilities, but she has proven her mettle to our family on more than one occasion. If she is willing to risk herself to help Diana, why are we stopping her?" She paused, looking to Andrew before continuing. "We came to make a decision, though it seems we have been presented with a third option, at least for the few remaining hours we have."

Headmistress Holbrooke was clearly finding herself overwhelmed. She swallowed hard, blush darkening (if that was even possible) as she gazed down at Diana. Sweat glistened on her forehead and she dabbed it away with a small handkerchief. "I—I understand where you're coming from, Miss Cavendish, as this is a very delicate situation… but risking Miss Kagari's life, if something were to go wrong, would be a heavy toll for this school. The loss of Diana will already have a tremendous effect that we may not be able to recover from in the near future, and—"

"So are you saying," Aunt Daryl cut in, blue eyes flashing maliciously as she glared at the Headmistress, "That the status of your school is more important to you than the life of my niece?"

"No, no, no!" Headmistress Holbrooke waved her hands in front of her, eyebrows narrowing as she racked her mind for a way to recover from her misspoken words. "That's… that's not—"

Akko could feel her breath finally calming as she tilted her head back and stared up at the bright lights above. The tension in the room was thick and palpable and she desperately just wanted to bring everyone to silence so they could focus on the real task at hand, which was _bringing Diana back_.

"Then let me keep trying," Akko stated through clenched teeth, pulling eight pairs of eyes back to her. "The more you argue, the less time we have left!"

The Headmistress had grown silent and, for once, looked as small as she was as she shrank into herself. She plucked her hat off the floor and smoothed the edges with her fingers, uncomfortably aware that an attempt to recover a student's life—Diana Cavendish's, no less—rested in her hands. Finally, she moved her head in a pained nod. "Miss Cavendish, if that is your wish, and Miss Kagari is willing to fulfill it despite the dangers, then I will allow them to proceed. I do want to remind you, though, that this is a highly unprecedented case and even the experts I spoke to were unable to offer a solution, so if the time does come to make a decision…" she hesitated, misted eyes falling on Diana as she took a deep breath, "… then I want you to be prepared."

Akko felt her heart racing-this time not in a way that made her skin crawl—as she turned her attention to Croix, who was looking back at her with a terse smile. "We don't have much time," she said quietly, searching the woman's teal eyes in the hope of finding an answer.

"We don't," Croix agreed. "Do you think you can recover enough in two hours? I'm afraid this will likely be our last attempt."

Akko clenched her jaw, letting a heavy breath slip through her nostrils as she looked down at the sheets that she was still rolling in her closed fists. "Two hours," she confirmed, as though tasting the idea on her tongue, before nodding resolutely. "Yes."

That would give her time to think, which was exactly what she needed to do, now that she knew Diana's wand wouldn't work as a trigger.

And if the wand wouldn't work—if something that represented the very world she lived in couldn't bring her back—what would?

* * *

"Tell me about what's going on," Dr. Wong said, her voice soft as she leaned forward in her desk chair and studied Diana's face. A notepad was open before her, though she made no move to pick up the pen and write on it. On her monitor, she could see the girl's current dosage of medication: Seroquel, 500mg once per day. Lamictal, 250mg twice per day. Negative reactions to Fluphenazine and Lurasidone.

Diana shrugged, arms folded across her chest as she stared down at her crossed ankles. "I'm not sure," she said after a moment of hesitation, blue eyes flicking up to meet the young face of her kind psychiatrist. Dr. Wong had seen her for years, ever since her old doctor had retired, and Diana had even been one of the first clients of the woman's professional career. She was young, and maybe a little bit inexperienced, but Diana had come to trust her new-age tactics of approaching her illness in a way that her former doctor hadn't. She wasn't afraid to switch medications around to get the best possible outcome or even try some that were still on a clinical trial, and for that, Diana was grateful.

After all, it was her current regimen that had kept her hallucinations at bay for so long.

"I had one of my old hallucinations the other night. You know, where I was in the Other World," Diana clarified, uncrossing her arms and fidgeting with her fingers in her lap. She plucked at her fingernails, which were already short and ragged from her anxious ministrations. "But ever since then it's been really odd. Like, I'm seeing things that I _know_ aren't there but I'm not in the Other World. I'm here. And I can remember everything."

Dr. Wong's eyes narrowed as she leaned back in her chair. If Diana was having hallucinations that were blending into reality, that was far from a good sign. It was one of the classic first symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia. It wasn't uncommon for a young woman with schizoaffective disorder to have a drastic increase in symptoms as they neared their twenties, nor was it uncommon for the illness to shift into a more severe form of schizophrenia. She had been hoping to prolong the effects of the disorder as long as she could so Diana could at least make it through university and develop some form of independence, but if her hallucinations were materializing in that manner…

"Can you tell me what you see? During these hallucinations?" she asked.

Diana could feel a warm blush trickling into her cheeks. She sank a little lower in her chair, reaching up to play with a lock of long, blonde hair. "Um, there's a girl," she said. "She says her name is Akko. I… um, I remember her from the Other World." She rolled her lip between her teeth before adding, "Well, I remember the idea of her, anyway, so I know that's where she's from."

Dr. Wong nodded, finally plucking up her pen as she began to scratch across her notepad in horribly messy penmanship that Diana couldn't even read. "And does this girl speak to you?"

Diana nodded. "Yes. It doesn't make very much sense, though. She keeps telling me to wake up and that I don't belong here."

A heavy sigh came from across the desk and Dr. Wong's pen hesitated above the paper before continuing. The doctor could feel her eyebrows twitching up in displeasure and she pursed her lips. "I see," she mumbled, dropping her pen and meeting Diana's worried blue eyes. "I'm going to be honest with you, Diana, and let you know that is a very bad sign of your illness manifesting into catatonia."

"What—what do you mean?" Diana asked, drawing a sharp intake of breath through her nose. Catatonia? She had researched her illness quite extensively and she knew the different branches of schizophrenia that her disorder could become, so she wasn't asking what the term meant at all—but more-so what it meant for _her_. Luckily, Dr. Wong knew exactly where her fears were.

"This isn't too uncommon for someone in your case," Dr. Wong reassured, though it was something that she personally hadn't dealt with before—she'd only learned about it in university and her residency. "So I'd like to ask you not to panic. We can prevent the hallucinations completely with a heavy addition of benzodiazepine to your medications, but that will only be a short term fix. Sometimes, this forces the onset of catatonia away completely. If it doesn't work, we may have to look into an inpatient facility—not permanently, just for a few days for evaluation," she added the last bit quickly at the widening of Diana's eyes and the small squeak that came from the back of the girl's throat. "But hopefully we won't even have to venture down that road."

"Benzos again," Diana muttered, sighing heavily. The last time she'd been put on benzos, she'd felt like a zombie for weeks. Though, she had to admit, going through a couple of weeks in a haze was far better than the alternative. "Alright."

"Although, I apologize, but you will be on these through your 18th birthday," Dr. Wong added, frowning with empathy. "So I fear you won't be able to partake in any heavy… celebrations… with your friends."

Diana grunted, rolling her eyes. "Oh, yeah, because my large group of friends was planning on getting me sloshed."

Dr. Wong chuckled, taking her mouse in her hand to click around on the large monitor. "I'm going to put you on 5mg of Diazepam twice daily. Take it with breakfast in the morning and again right before bed. You're… not going to feel great, but the hallucinations should be completely gone. Your mother can get this script filled at the pharmacy downstairs, I'd prefer you start tonight."

"That's a lot," Diana grumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and internally cursing her own brain for failing her in a way that had to make her live in a fog just to put it back on the right track. But she knew her psychiatrist wouldn't steer her in the wrong direction. She wiped her clammy palms against the front of her jeans.

"It'll only be for a short time, Diana. We'll dial it back pretty quickly," Dr. Wong said with a sympathetic smile. "I'll have you come in next week and we can go over a more long-term plan, but in the meantime, if there are any hallucinations after tonight, please call me immediately. Your mother has my mobile."

Diana reluctantly nodded. She had known her illness might eventually come to this, but she was hoping it would be later instead of sooner. But at least she was in the care of a professional she trusted and a family who supported her. Short-term suffering would be better than a long-term disorder that would surely hospitalize her.

And, after all, she just wanted the broken part of her brain to go away, for the Other World to disappear into a distant memory so she could live in the reality that she so badly wanted.

* * *

Akko hadn't broken her stare from Diana in quite some time, hoping that just looking at the other girl would bring her the answer that she was seeking. Her nose crinkled as she shoved another mouthful of banana into her mouth, cringing at the taste and swallowing as quickly as possible. She _hated_ bananas, they were the absolute _worst_ , but Croix had shoved her a handful and told her to eat them to help build her energy back up quickly. So she ate the bananas. For Diana. And if—no, _when—_ she got Diana back, she would be sure to point out that she consumed multiple of her most hated fruits just for her.

She found her mind wandering as she pinched her nose and choked down more banana. The wand didn't work, which she ultimately didn't understand because it was the vessel of Diana's power and should have reminded her of her own world. Once again, she lifted the book that Croix had given her and stared at the passage she'd re-read multiple times.

 _When a host is trapped within the spirit realm, the introduction of an object, item, phrase, or action representing the host's original realm can be used as a key to trigger a return. This key will be of special importance to the host and will commonly be repressed within the amygdala—that is, its presence will not transfer into physical existence in the spirit realm._

Her wand hadn't been there, and that still didn't work. Akko grumbled, sinking her head back into the pillow as she mentally walked through each visit to Diana's spirit realm.

An object. An item. A phrase. An action.

Akko grinded her teeth together, rolling her jaw in thought. Diana had seemed to have everything that she'd had in the magical world, there was just… no magic. She even had things that she _didn't_ have, like her family.

All her friends were there, even if they weren't her friends and she didn't even know them. A horse that Akko had recognized from Diana's stable but never even touched. Even Chariot lived inside Diana's strangely normal world.

But there was one thing that _wasn't_ there, one thing that Diana had even said she had never seen before. A familiar jolt of energy coursed through her body, the same one she'd felt when Diana had reached out and touched her. A lurch in her gut, a quickening of her heartbeat, an increased pulse. It hadn't been something that was comfortable and always kicked Akko out of the spirit realm.

Almost like it had been _repelling_ her.

Akko shot up in bed, barely managing to swallow the bite of banana in her mouth as she let the peel fall from her limp fingers. She knew it now-it had been so painfully obvious—and yet she had been too dense to figure it out.

It was her. All along, it had been her.

She was the key.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"I have to get in there. Now," Akko urged Croix, unable to still the anxious quiver of her hands as she grabbed the attention of the lilac-haired witch. "I know how to get her back. We have to hurry!"

Croix frowned, rising from where she'd been sitting to approach the side of Akko's bed. "It's only been an hour," she murmured, placing her hand on the girl's clammy forehead and analyzing her. "You're still really pale. I don't think—"

Akko shook her head, gritting her teeth and leveling Croix with sparkling crimson eyes. "I can do this. Just… send me back. Where's Madam Wong?" There was no one there aside from her and Croix and she _needed_ the nurse to hook her back up to the machines.

Croix pressed cold fingers to the side of Akko's neck, shaking her head and sighing. "Your heart rate is too elevated, Akko. The monitors are just going to pull you right back out. You won't even have time to do anything."

"Then do the spell," Akko said in a rush. "You know the spell, right? You've spoken about it before. The one you said was crude."

"Akko, that's much too risky," Croix replied, lifting her palms into the air in a refusal. "I wouldn't have any control over what happens. I wouldn't be able to bring you back if something were to go wrong. The effects of walking would be much worse than any other time and… to be honest, I'm not sure if your mind can handle that."

Akko pursed her dry lips, glancing at Diana and the green glow that swirled around her pale body. Madam Wong had turned the life support up and the magic streaming from the four tall rods was almost painfully bright. "We have to," Akko replied, turning back to her former professor. "I know the risk and I'm willing to take it. And I won't be coming back without Diana."

Croix hesitated, a shadow passing over her eyes as she turned and stared at the still curtain, at the distant voices of the group somewhere else in the clinic. She knew what she had to do. She had helped Akko go this far and she wouldn't back down now—it wasn't in the nature of a Meridies. With a deep breath, her hand fell to her side and gripped her holstered wand. With a resolute nod, she pulled it up and flicked it open.

"Are you sure?" she asked once more.

"I'm positive." Akko sat up a little straighter, fixing sunken eyes on Croix. "Do it."

Croix swallowed hard, raising her wand. " _Myondemenne Hyboute_ ," she uttered, closing her eyes, " _Myondemenne Hyboute_ —"

Akko's hand sought Diana's and she gripped her limp fingers hard, squeezing her eyes shut and preparing for the blow that she knew was coming.

" _Myondemenne Hyboute_!" Croix finished, raising her voice enough that Akko could hear the chatting group grow silent. She could sense the rushing footsteps, the sudden cries of confusion.

Croix's wand burst into a brilliant blue light, growing and stretching until it resembled nothing of its previous appearance. Instead, the lilac-haired witch was wielding a thick blue bat, which glimmered and weaved through her hands.

"If you don't come back alive," Croix muttered, narrowing her eyes at the Japanese girl that flinched with the expectation of the blow, "I will be so angry with you."

Akko opened her mouth in a natural urge to retort, but nothing came out. Instead, she heard a loud crack, her body jolting with surprise as the bat collided painfully with the side of her skull.

Croix watched as the girl collapsed against Diana's side and lowered her arm. The once bright blue bat had returned to her normal metal rod. She had no power over what would happen now—Akko held her own fate in her hands. And, if anything happened, Croix would deal with the repercussions _after_ she had made an egregious mistake… just as she always had.

* * *

Akko uttered a strangled cry of pain and instinctively grabbed the back of her head. She could feel something soft beneath her knees, something that wasn't the starched sheets of the hospital bed and certainly not the stone floor of Luna Nova.

As her eyes blinked open and her vision cleared, she found herself in a very familiar place. One she had seen before.

It was Diana's room.

She took a quivering breath, looking up to find the blonde girl staring back at her with wide eyes and something clutched tight in her right hand.

Akko felt weak. Her muscles seemed to wither inside her and all she wanted to do was collapse in exhaustion, but instead she planted a shaky hand on the ground and pushed herself slowly to her feet. Her heart was shrilling a beat against the inside of her skull and sweat burst from her pores with the exertion of just forcing her body to work. She could feel a cool blanket of air on her skin from the open window, where the white curtains drifted gently to the sides with each slow breeze. There was no moonlight—it was raining out—and Akko briefly wondered why in the world Diana would have the window open while it was raining.

"Diana," she said, forcing her voice to steady as she met the other girl's frightened blue eyes. "I figured it out."

Diana shook her head, forcing her eyes shut and taking a long breath. "No. No, no," she muttered. Her head had instantly started pounding at the sudden onslaught of stress, at the rapid change of emotions as the strange girl blinked into existence right before her.

The brunette was stepping forward, closing the gap between them in a way that made Diana take a large step back. Of course this had to happen right then—right when she was about to pop one of the benzos that Dr. Wong had prescribed her. She could feel the small pill bottle, slick with her own sweat, as she held it tight in her hand.

"Stay away from me," Diana groaned, holding one arm out as though to stop Akko's advance. "I don't want this anymore. Just go!"

"Diana." Akko let out a long sigh, watching the scared girl with tired eyes. She was in her tank top and shorts again, and her long hair, which had clearly been recently washed, hung damp and frizzy around her bare shoulders. Her feet were bare, her toes flexed and gripped at the wooden floor as she stepped back once more. "This isn't your world. You belong at Luna Nova. You belong with _me_."

"I belong here," Diana replied with a bite in her usually stable voice. "You're not going to win this. I'm getting rid of you and I don't want you to come back."

The venom in her voice made Akko take a sharp breath—she'd never heard Diana speak that way, especially to _her,_ and the sheer sentiment of her words made something inside her throb. But this wasn't her Diana. No, this Diana was confused and lost, _this_ Diana was the product of a curse that was, ultimately, Akko's fault.

"Diana, I love you," she finally murmured after a long, painful silence.

Akko was expecting a reaction—and she got one. But not the one that she had been hoping for. She thought that maybe saying that would have been enough to carry Diana home, but instead the girl began manically unscrewing the cap of the medication as she shook her head.

"Get out of my head," Diana said, emptying a couple of pills into a shaking hand. She wasn't supposed to take more than one, but damned if she wasn't going to force this demon out of her head, out of her _life_.

Akko lurched forward, reaching out and grasping Diana's wrist as she forced it back down. She could feel her jaw clench unintentionally, a burning pain searing through her nerves, and she choked back a cry. Her pulse quickened. The slam of her heart against her ribs made her knees buckle and her muscles waver with uncertainty. Something about Diana was forcing her back, wrapping around the part in her brain that was broken and squeezing until everything she'd been pushing away was bursting out in a rush of angry neurons.

Diana was pulling away, she was backing up but there was nowhere to go—she hit the wall and a puff of air burst from her lungs in surprise. The hand on her wrist was scalding her skin, was muddling her mind with a strange, tingling sensation that felt like fingers inside her brain.

A heavy, metallic taste rose like bile at the back of Akko's mouth. She bit back the pain of her throat constricting, of her lungs aching and throbbing for oxygen, of the muscle that was racing in her chest and sending her blood coursing through her body at breakneck speed. It hurt, it hurt so bad, but it was what she had to do—what she _needed_ to do—and with a final desperate lunge, she held back a scream and pressed her lips hard against Diana's.

And all she saw was blood.

Akko threw her body into the other girl's, holding her own seizing muscles against Diana's. She could feel her fingernails digging into flesh as she held on, forcing her focus into the soft lips that were opened, the teeth that scraped against her lips.

Black, lifeless eyes stared back into her own.

She squeezed her eyes shut hard, taking a sharp breath through her nose as the next image impaled her with a spear of nausea.

Muscle and sinew were ripped apart, oozing bright red blood that flowed like a river onto the ground, that soaked into cloth and skin. The white bone at the back of the neck that pressed forward through torn flesh, falling against a weak pulse that still throbbed with the flux and flow of disconnected mortality.

Akko moved her hand up from Diana's shoulder, let her finger run over the front of the soft skin of her throat, of the gentle bulge of bone beneath flesh. She was whole, and she would stay whole, because Akko would _never_ let anything happen to her, not as long as she still had a breath in her lungs and a beat in her heart.

She forced the images down, she choked on the pain of the memory, she fought through the raw stab of her own aching brain and instead focused on Diana, instead replaced each image that scarred the surface of her mind with something else, something that she knew made her happy—

where blood became the bright red swirl of Shiny Chariot's cape as she danced on the stage, magic spilling from her wand with the same ease of an innocent child's laughter and

black, lifeless eyes became the cool blue that had gazed down at her that first night she and Diana had made love, the eyes that cradled her own in the safety of warmth and

broken flesh became whole as Akko was flying once more, airborne on her broomstick at last as she sped, smiling and happy, with Diana's arms around her waist and the whisper of wind in her ears—

and all at once, in a single moment that made the darkness in Akko's head shiver beneath the threat of the light,

Diana was kissing her back.

* * *

As Akko crashed against her, Diana felt nothing but pain. Sharp, searing pain that bit down to the bone and made her crumble between the wall and a shivering body, held up only by the strong hands that were digging desperately into her flesh.

She wanted the girl off—she had to fight it, she had to stay in her own reality—and so she focused all of her energy into blocking out the wrong parts of her mind that were keeping her from where she belonged.

But all of a sudden, in vivid images that burst free in powerful waves, something _else_ started to happen.

She was six again and her eyes were wide with wonder as she watched Shiny Chariot soaring high above in a bright red cape that whispered into the night air. Brilliant sparks burst from the tip of a three-pronged wand and flew into the sky, glimmering in a jaw-dropping display of magic.

Red eyes trained on her own as her forehead pressed down against Akko's, both damp with sweat as they moved together in a measured beat, magic swirling and ebbing around their bodies as they explored a new kind of love, one that made Diana want to burst with an overflow of emotions.

Her hands wrapped around a small waist, fueling the body in her arms with power as her feet lifted off the ground and cold air nipped at her face. Akko's laughter, melodic and joyous, as she flew for the first time with a little bit of borrowed magic and a whole lot of determination.

Suddenly she wasn't pushing back anymore, she was leaning into the soft, familiar lips of Akko Kagari as memory after memory flooded her mind, as she became Diana of the House of Cavendish, as green sparks of magic tingled at her fingertips and against the lips that she was kissing with a desperate ache for home, for life, for the girl in her arms—

But then the hands on her neck and shoulder loosened their tight grip, the mouth pressed against her own stilled, and Akko crumpled to the floor.

Diana collapsed to her knees, reaching for Akko, for that dark labyrinth in her mind where torches were still flickering to life inside the twists and turns that were finally starting to make sense, but her hands grasped only empty air as the girl simply vanished.

* * *

Akko's muscles were contracting and shaking violently beneath her skin. Unseeing eyes shot open as something akin to a rattling groan lurched from mouth, an unsettling echo against the deafening silence that had become the clinic. Her fists were clenched at her sides, knuckles pale as fingernails dug half-moons into her palms.

"Feng," Croix shouted, rising from the chair she'd pulled up next to Akko to keep a close eye on the, until now, motionless witch. The girl had been out cold for nearly an hour, the beginnings of a black and purple bruise settling around the bump that had swelled up nearly immediately after Croix had slammed her into the spirit realm. "Something's happening. Akko!" She snapped her fingers in front of the girl's eyes. "Akko, wake up!"

But there was no response. Her pupils were blown, dilated to where the red of her irises could hardly be seen.

"I think she's seizing," Madam Wong said, grabbing Akko's arm and pulling at her quivering body. "I'm not sure, but help me get her onto her side."

"You're not _sure_?" Croix groaned, helping the nurse ease the dead-weight of a witch onto her side. "Don't you have a medical license?"

Madam Wong frowned, stretching one of Akko's legs out and bringing one of her hands to rest near her chin. "It's a medical _magic_ license," Madam Wong hissed, shooting a glare at Croix. "How often do you think a witch has a grand mal, _Croix_?"

"Tits, Feng, like I have any idea. What do we do?"

"You shut up and get the hell back," Madam Wong groaned, pushing her school friend away and keeping a close eye on Akko as the girl's eyes drifted shut once more. She pulled up a blanket, covering the shivering body and moving a greasy strand of brunette hair from the side of her face. "I'm not so sure she's in there anymore, Croix. We wouldn't have had any kind of response like this otherwise, right?"

Croix shrugged, folding her arms over her chest and glancing at Diana, who still lay still on her bed, breath slipping in rhythmic gasps from parted lips. She looked worse, if that was possible.

"I… I don't know," Croix replied, swallowing hard as she blinked between the two girls. "I'm not an expert, Feng. And I can't tell what's happening without any kind of technology."

"You and technology," Madam Wong grumbled, placing a hand on Akko's shoulder to draw soothing circles with her thumb. "Maybe you should learn to rely on basic instincts like a normal person."

"I am a _normal_ person," Croix spat back, rolling her eyes. It wasn't the time for banter. It was the time to _act._

Which was exactly why the two witches were lashing out. It was the only thing they _could_ do One a wealth of knowledge, one a trained medical professional… and neither could do anything but watch and hope.

* * *

"Diana."

She was soaring through the heavens on her broomstick, Akko's fingers clutching her robes as she clenched her teeth and arced higher into the air. They were gaining ground on the Noir Missile as they rocketed forward, Akko readying her wand as she rose behind her, balancing with the cat-like reflexes of a gymnast (something that was _very_ unlike the usually clumsy girl) in ready to enact their plan.

"Diana!"

They were kneeling before the massive, cloaked figure of Aurelion, Akko's hands clutched around the bow from the Cavendish vault that she had coined the Shiny Bow. Their fingers were intertwining as red eyes met blue and, without speaking, knew exactly what to do—

 _Noctu Orfei—_

"Diana, come back!"

" _Aude Fraetor_!" Diana heard herself bellow.

Her own voice startled her and her eyes snapped open. She slowly became aware of her surroundings, of the strong arms that gripped her close and held her tight. At first she thought it was Akko, that she was in Luna Nova and had woken in the other girl's arms, but as realization dawned she found herself frightened and confused.

"Mother?"

Blue eyes widened at the sight of Bernadette, whose tears streaked down red cheeks as she gazed down at her. She rocked the girl's body gently, burying her face into Diana's hair as she wept.

"Oh, thank God," Bernadette choked out.

Diana was slumped against the wall of her bedroom—not the one at Luna Nova, but the Other World, the World where her parents were alive and she was so blissfully normal. The World where expectations befitting a Cavendish heiress were nonexistent, where all she had to be was an average girl and enjoy the simple pleasures that other teenagers her age were allowed to enjoy.

But she wasn't quite sure that was what she _wanted_.

She glanced down at the pill bottle that was still clutched, opened, in her fist. Some Valium had spilled onto the floor, one crushed into small bits and powder on the wooden floor.

Bernadette shifted against her, pushing back and holding the girl at arm's length as she studied her face—the blue eyes that were staring back at her in blinking curiosity, the fingers of the hand resting near her waist that gently trembled. "I thought I had lost you," she murmured, fresh tears slipping from the corners of her eyes as the words left her lips. "Come on, dear, I'll help you up."

With the guidance of the arms clutching her own, Diana rose on shaking legs. The memories of Luna Nova were still sliding through her mind. Images of the Cavendish unicorn, the Philosopher's stone shining from its horn. The towering, ancient tree of Jennifer and the Pappiliodya that Akko had released at her own faulted judgment. The broom race, which she had won despite the Japanese witch's resolute determination to claim a prize that had once been Chariot's.

"Mother," Diana heard herself whisper again.

"I'm here," Bernadette replied, offering a weak smile as she ran her hands down Diana's bare arms, which were prickled in a canvas of goosebumps. "It's going to be okay. Here." She reached out to where she had set a glass of water on Diana's desk. Some of the liquid had sloshed out when Bernadette had made the discovery of Diana in a near catatonic state, crumpled on her own floor and muttering phrases that she couldn't understand. "Take your Valium. We'll get through this. You're still here, it's okay."

But as Diana stared down at the glass of rippling water, at the pill bottle in her hand, everything slowly started to fall into place.

It was… her choice.

For once, life was letting her make the decision. A girl who had been born into both hierarchy and loneliness, into an expectation where failure was never an option. A girl who had been born into the early onset of mental illness that she couldn't escape, into days of near-normalcy and content.

It was a scale—a balanced scale in which the pros and cons balanced weightlessly against each other, where each World mocked the other in a distinct promise of paradise.

There was Luna Nova, a world of magic and wonder, where she had worked hard to become one of the greatest witches that the school—maybe even the magical world—would ever see. Where she had fallen in love with a girl who completed her, a girl who risked her own life to save her, a girl who went to the edge of the earth, and further, to bring her back. But, there, she had no family. Had nowhere to turn but her own legacy, forced to travel down a path that had already been chosen for her.

There was her normal life in Leeds, at Temple Moor. Where she was smart but unpopular, not that it ever bothered her, though she was plagued with an illness that she was forced to fight without her will. But she had her _family_. She had her mother, her father, her brother. She had a life where the expectation of greatness never knocked at her door, never begged for her to be anything outside of what she wanted to be.

And she could end it all with the pills in her hand. She could get rid of Luna Nova forever, she might even be able to get rid of her illness—and if not it didn't matter, her family would help her get through.

And who would help her get through at Luna Nova? Who would help her when perfection was unreachable, when failure was inevitable?

She knew the answer.

Akko.

Her misty eyes rose. She glanced at the open window, at the curtains that fluttered in the cold spring breeze. At the dark, damp night air that sifted slowly into the room. At the lights of the city twinkling in the distance. At the calm, slow rain of beautiful Leeds. At the rolling hills and trees in the distance, where she knew Luna grazed contentedly with her pasture mates.

And she looked at her mother.

The blue eyes, so much like her own, that fell on her with a glimmer that could only be love. With the kindness of a mother. A mother who, at Luna Nova, wouldn't be there to hold her when she was sad, wouldn't be there to hear the woes of growing into a young woman, wouldn't give her advice on how to handle arguments with friends or the gnawing spark of love. A woman who would never see her get married or, possibly, hold a grandchild with the same sparkling blue eyes—

Diana glanced down at the pills in her hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of the fresh, rain-scented air that drifted through the open window of her bedroom.

In one final, decisive moment, she chose one side of paradise.

"I'm so sorry," she said—

and lifted the hand that held the pills.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Falling in love with Akko Kagari wasn't what Diana had ever expected, what she had seen in trope romantic fairytales as a small girl. There wasn't a defining moment in time or a gear that suddenly clicked into place. In a sense, it wasn't _falling_ at all—it was like a slow descent down a grand, winding staircase that led into the dark shadows of the unknown. A steady decline, littered with the stopping and starting of little moments in time that Diana cherished, that she often reflected upon when she was alone with her own thoughts. It was a puzzle that fell together within her subconscious and slowly started to make sense as each piece found its link. It was the thick clouds of an overcast sky that parted, one by one, to reveal the bright rays of a hidden sun.

So, no, it wasn't falling. It had been more like a _journey_ into love, and Diana had enjoyed every blissfully painful moment of it. Every question that had plagued her tormented mind, every insecurity in the realization that she wanted one of her best friends in _that_ way, every throb of her heart when she saw or thought about Akko.

She had initially shoved her feelings aside, buried them somewhere far away and instead covered them with her studies and responsibilities. At first she had associated her changing emotions with something akin to admiration. After all, Akko was tenacious and strong. She had grit unlike anybody Diana had ever met before and didn't back down even in the most impossible of situations. Her personality had quickly earned Diana's respect, but then it was beyond that. She had admired and respected many people in her life: her mother, Shiny Chariot, Headmistress Holbrooke. But Akko was different. Akko made her heart race, her skin shiver, her head fog with the idea of just spending more time with the other girl. Admiration and respect were one aspect, but there was so much more.

The first time she'd realized the extent of her predicament, she had been studying with their group of friends. Akko had sidled up next to her on the booth side of the library table, leaning over her arm to point out something in the Magical Numerology exercise that she didn't quite understand. Diana had found herself struggling to focus on an explanation that made sense, to keep the wavering uncertainty out of her voice. That never happened. She was always poised and confident. But suddenly, like the flick of a switch lighting a room, Diana had realized that it happened nearly _every_ time Akko was so close to her in proximity. Usually she would shy away from other people entering her personal space, but with Akko she didn't mind. In fact, she welcomed it.

She could feel the sleeve of the girl's robe as it gently tickled the hair on her arm, making her skin rise with goosebumps. And her face was so close—only inches from her own—that she could smell her hair, feel the ghost of a breath against her cheek.

She had found herself leaning closer, spreading her leg to the side to brush her thigh against Akko's with a slight intake of breath. And Akko hadn't moved away. If anything, she had pressed a little closer as the two settled into a mutual comfort beneath the disguise of education. And, if anything, that had been her first hint that maybe Akko was feeling something, too, but Diana didn't consider that until later when she remembered that just a few days before the Japanese witch had easily solved an equation that was almost the exact same as the one they were going over.

The small flame that had been her affection for Akko only seemed to grow in time, burning brighter and brighter until it engulfed her mind. Every small interaction, from Akko's melodic voice calling, "Dianaaa!" through the hallway only to catch up moments later with books hugged to a heaving chest as though she'd run, to the way shimmering ruby eyes met her own with a little half-smile every time Diana had been caught staring, to the gentle brush of the back of a hand against her own as they walked side-by-side through the hallways, neither bothering to move away.

There was one time where her feelings had almost slipped out. It had been in late October, close to the Samhain festival, and Akko had been helping her decorate the cafeteria for the upcoming holiday. The other girl was particularly bad with the assembling spell-so much so that Diana was constantly having to clean up the messes behind her—but nobody else had wanted to volunteer (it was a weekend morning) and the alone time, even with the silence of concentration, was so very welcome. At one point they had taken a break and were sipping some breakfast tea that the goblins had made at Diana's request, both still comfortably quiet in their own exhaustion. It seemed to be an hour that was particularly early for Akko. The girl's red eyes were drooped beneath heavy lids as she gazed off at nothing in particular.

And so Diana had found herself staring, too. But at Akko.

She studied the slow rise and fall of the other girl's chest, the smooth skin against the small bit of collarbone that peeked out from behind the few buttons the other girl had left undone. Akko had removed her vest and rolled up her sleeves with the effort of putting up the decorations and looked both disheveled and somehow so effortlessly attractive. Her jaw was set as she rolled her teeth together in thought, the cloud of concentration drifting over beautiful red eyes. The other girl did this thing when she was mulling an idea where she stroked at her middle finger with her thumb, slowly and unconsciously, and Diana watched the movement of her hand and wondered what it would feel like inside of her own.

Diana's eyes had settled on the tendon that was straining at the side of Akko's neck as the girl's head slightly turned, was wondering how soft the skin beneath her jaw was, when Akko's voice had interrupted her.

"Diana, are you alright?" she'd asked. Diana had blinked up to realize Akko was no longer looking away but instead gazing back at her with an inquisitive twitch of an eyebrow.

Diana had nodded, well aware of the blush that heated her cheeks at being caught staring, and said, "Yes, of course I am."

"Oh, alright. You were just staring is all."

"I… suppose I was," Diana admitted, bringing her long since forgotten tea to her lips to take a pensive sip. The warmth of the liquid seemed to embolden her and she'd added, "You're—you're, uh, quite nice look at sometimes."

It had sounded _better_ in her head, maybe a little bit more courageously flirtatious, and Diana had remembered feeling so embarrassed that she shrank into herself. She had wanted to look away, to hide from her own words, but kind red eyes were holding her own. Akko didn't seem embarrassed or upset at all. No, she had quirked the corner of her lips in that terribly cute lopsided smirk, her thumb still scraping over her finger. There had been something there, something akin to a light behind her eyes and Diana could see her chest stutter with a sharp breath.

"Is… is that so?" Akko had asked.

Diana didn't know what to say. She found herself caught in a tide of guilt, of sudden and miserably overwhelming bashfulness that was very much unlike her. With a hard swallow, she had only moved her head in a slow, choked nod.

She'd felt her eyes glaze over, her breath growing shallow as she suddenly became aware that Akko's eyes had dropped to her lips and were lingering, making Diana's tongue dart out and wet them self-consciously. Akko's thumb was rolling, stroking, digging into her finger, and Diana was so terribly curious as to what the Japanese witch had on her mind that held her so deep in thought.

In that moment, Diana had suddenly been overwhelmed with the desperate urge to _tell_ Akko how she felt in the way that she had thought about dozens of times before when she'd found her mind falling on the object of her affection. Which… was often. It would have went something like:

 _Akko. I like you. Not as in the friend way, although I do cherish you very much as a friend, but I_ like _you. I like you in the way that I want to find out what your lips taste like, what your skin feels like. I like you in the way that I want to wrap my fingers into yours and never let go. I like you in the way that I want to kiss you in the dark shadows of the library or in an empty hall on the way to class, like that one we pass by every day on the way to Magical Pharmaceuticals—you know the one, right? Where that old, horribly chipped statue seems to beckon us into the dark of what we could make our own hidden solitude?_

 _I like you in the way that I want you to whisper me secrets that you haven't told anybody before, in the way that I want to see photos of you as a child and marvel at how you've gone from a cute little girl to the beautiful person in front of me. I like you in the way that I want to share myself with you and I mean_ all _of me, not just the bit that's on display in front of everybody else. I want your hand on mine, I want your body on mine, I want your_ lips _on mine and I want—_

 _I want_ you _, Akko._

And so Diana had opened her mouth and barely squeaked out, "Akko, can I tell you something?" and Akko had said, "Sure, what is it?" Diana had parted her lips and her throat felt so dry like she hadn't had a single drop of water in days and the words hung behind her teeth and she wanted so badly for them to spill out from where she'd hidden them and just get it off her mind, get it off her _chest_ and let Akko know once and for all how she truly felt and why she stared at her in the halls and in class and in the cafeteria and in the courtyard and in every _single_ place that she saw her because good _Nine_ was she gorgeous—

but all that came out was, "Thank you for helping me."

And she'd let out the long breath of defeat that she would come to know so painfully well.

There was another time, a time even _before_ that in the first days of the new semester, where the group had planned an outing to Blytonbury for the first weekend. The three teams had reunited with laughter and glee, everyone sharing stories of their summer vacation and reacquainting themselves with the playful banter that was the dynamic of the nine friends. They had walked through the park to see one of the new mausoleums that had been erected—at Diana's bequest, of course—and found themselves marveling at the colorful trees and the red, orange, and yellow leaves that rained around them.

They had stopped on a wooden bridge that rose over a small, bubbling stream, admiring the way the clear water pulsed over the polished rocks. Leaves drifted through the tiny rapids like ships, sailing far away from the home of whatever tree they had fallen from as if on some mission of newfound divinity. Along the embankment, still green with grass that had fought its way through the first frost of fall, spanned aspens and oaks that faded into the distance in a brilliant display of new autumn.

Seven of the friends had moved on, traipsing on down the well-traveled path back into the city to continue their day of freedom. But Akko had remained, leaning against the creaky rail of the bridge as she gazed upstream, and so Diana had lingered as well.

The others didn't notice that they had stayed behind for a few short moments, all too busy chattering with the excitement that comes with seeing your friends again after so long, and so for the first time of the new year Diana had found herself alone, if only briefly, with the other girl.

"Just as beautiful as I remember," Akko had whispered. It was almost imperceptive, so low and quiet, but it hung in the air between them and Diana had glanced over to find Akko staring back at her with bright crimson eyes.

"It is," Diana had agreed, meeting the other girl's gaze. Diana had reached up and curled her fingers around the wooden railing, so close to Akko that she could feel the outside of their hands brushing up together. She wanted to tell Akko that she'd missed her dearly, that she'd thought about her the entire holiday and couldn't wait to get back to Luna Nova to see her again.

"I missed you," Akko had said, interrupting her thoughts. "I… thought about you a lot this summer."

Diana's breath had hitched in her throat as she blinked back. She got the distinct feeling that Akko wanted to say something more, that there were words still left in the empty air between them, but instead Akko had just flashed Diana that half-smile and said, "Let's catch up with the others."

And so, step by step, Diana had descended that grand staircase inside her own mind. The first steps were hesitant and guarded and she looked over her shoulder often, wondering if she should return to the top or dare to keep going. But as she climbed further down, each step more confident and intentional than the last, she found that she no longer wanted to turn back. If she had, she was certain that the great height she was leaving behind her had only disappeared, because if she stopped to think about it she couldn't even imagine what her old life—life before Akko—even looked like anymore.

But one day… one day, she took that final step downward, and her feet found the ground with purchase and surety unlike she had ever experienced. Only, she hadn't reached the bottom of the massive staircase. The stairs continued to spiral down, though the path they carved was no longer dark. No, on the contrary, they were glimmering with shared memories, with fleeting glances, with words and moments and thoughts, though they weren't her own.

And Diana found that she didn't have to go any farther. She didn't have to continue that long walk, because Akko was standing right in front of her and her hands were outstretched to find Diana's and she realized, for the first time, that she wasn't the only one that had been on a blind journey into the unknown.

No, she didn't have to keep going—not alone, anyway.

Because Akko had met her in the middle.

* * *

Diana glanced down at the pills in her hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of the fresh, rain-scented air that drifted through the open window of her bedroom.

"I'm so sorry," she said, forcing her eyes to meet the confused blue of her mother's one last, desperate time before lifting the hand that held the pill bottle and throwing it through the open window and into the pummeling rain outside.

She had made her choice.

All along she had known and she had kept it hidden. She loved Akko with every fiber of her being, with every breath be it slow and quiet or labored in pain or strife. She loved her family, but they were ghosts of her past, they were at the top of that grand staircase that she had so long ago begun to descend. She loved her family,

but there was nothing left for her in the darkness that she'd left behind.

And so she chose Akko.

She chose the girl who had always chosen _her_. The girl who had lit the way, the girl who had accompanied her, stride by painful stride, in every treacherous journey, every breath of uncertainty. It was Akko's hand that she sought in her moments of weakness, it was Akko's lips that she sought in her moments of strength.

Diana closed her eyes and delved into the labyrinth that she had avoided in her mind. The way was bright with familiarity now and she knew where she was going. She was running through time, sprinting past memories both great and small, memories she cherished and hated, memories that had built her into the girl she had become. She knew exactly where she was going—the path spread wide and opened before her, a dazzling light that spread into the World that she belonged. A World where she was the to-be head of the great house of Cavendish witches. A World that held Luna Nova and the friends that she had made along the way. A World of brilliant, extraordinary magic.

A World with Akko.

Akko was reaching for her, seeking her hand, waiting the same way that she always had been-

and so Diana met her in the middle.

* * *

The magic could no longer power the source it had been supporting.

The bright green tendrils that snaked through the poles and into Diana's body were fading, drifting into small particles only to vanish into the air around her without a home to claim them.

With a final, shaking sigh of hesitation, Madam Wong reached to the control panel and ended the stream of life support. There was a heavy lump that had worked its way into her throat, born from the pained tears of the Cavendish family and the resolute stare of Paul and Andrew Hanbridge.

Croix was clutching Akko's hand, which draped limply over the side of her tousled bed, as though it was her lifeline. Professor Ursula had joined them at some point—Madam Wong wasn't sure when, she had been so focused on the hitch of her breath as she watched over the two broken girls—and was gripping Croix's shoulders as silent tears carved a wet path down her cheeks.

Akko was alive. She would be alright, in time. The nurse had hooked her up to an I.V. and was feeding saline into her, threading a river of life into her motionless body. The color had slowly begun to return to her cheeks, though waking would be staved off. It would take some time as the girl had put so much effort into her attempt to save Diana that she had beaten herself into a state of severe exhaustion.

A wheezing breath made Madam Wong glance at the small Japanese witch. The girl shouldn't be awake yet—the nurse had given her a powerful sedative to keep her knocked out. There was no telling the toll that her already battered body would take when Akko woke up to realize that she hadn't succeeded and Diana was gone.

But the breath… hadn't come from Akko at all. No, the girl was just as still as before.

"Diana."

The voice came from someone in the room, though Madam Wong couldn't be certain who, because her misted eyes had fallen on the blonde witch.

Diana had let out a long, shaking breath of air. She gasped a single, desperate word into the silence that had surrounded them.

"Ak-ko," she rasped,

and opened her eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Akko found Diana in the lavender fields of Hokkaido.

She recognized Furano from the one time Okaasaan and Otousan had taken her there on a holiday during the summer months of her tenth year. The memory itself was distant, but fond. She remembered the bright purple stalks of lavender rising against a blue sky speckled with fluffy white clouds, the chatter of other families and the chirp of birds from the trees nearby. The lavender had been so tall it reached mid-chest and she had to hold Okaasan's hand to keep from getting separated, especially with how short her attention span had been with everything going on around them. There had been a festival of sorts, which made the attraction quite a bit busier than normal. As darkness fell, strings of colorful paper lanterns lit the fields in a rainbow glow that held Akko in a complete state of awe.

In a way, it had been much like Shiny Chariot's magic show, except this was the magic of the non-magic—a statement of time and art, of the devotion to a craft and the gathering of families and friends from all over Japan.

And it was the first place that Akko had seen what love truly looked like.

Okaasan and Otousan were not overly affectionate with each other. In fact, Akko had seen little more than a quick peck on the cheek in the ten years that she had been alive and the lack of physical contact had become commonplace. It wasn't as though they were just like that with each other—her parents were traditional in their culture and offered little in the way of outright affection with her, too—so it wasn't a strange thing for Akko. It was just a fact of life and the overall family dynamic that she had become accustomed to.

So when Otousan had asked Akko to sit quietly by herself, pacified with a sugary treat from one of the vendors, she had watched her parents with relative astonishment as they joined hands and moved off to a field framed in lavender to join other, younger couples were dancing. Their own actions had been conservative compared to those around them—Okaasan with her hands on broad shoulders, Otousan with his hands carefully and delicately placed above a waist—but it was more physical contact than Akko had ever seen them make before.

It was a slow dance that started with a few awkwardly placed feet, but as the rust slowly shed from years of dormancy, their actions grew more graceful. Under the brilliant lights of the paper lanterns they moved together, the music lifting their feet with each pleasant beat. Okaasan had dressed in a purple and yellow yukata and the soft fabric twirled around her ankles. Every sway of her hips seemed to take the years of docile age away. She was grinning in a way that Akko had never seen her smile, and her bright eyes had been locked, unwavering, into Otousan's. Akko could see the shimmering light of the lantern in her eyes, but there was something different, too, and for the first time she realized that her parents were well and truly in love.

And she knew that she wanted that one day. She wanted to look into someone's eyes the way Okaasan was looking at Otousan and for them to look at her the same way. She wanted to hold somebody in her arms like they were the entire world and nothing more existed.

But it had come in a manner and a place that had been completely unexpected.

She had gone to Luna Nova to learn magic, to become a great witch like her idol, Shiny Chariot, and make others just as happy as magic made her. She had not gone to fall in love—especially with a British girl who was literally the opposite of her in every possible way—but she had.

There was nothing about it she regretted. It had come with the ease of night into day and Akko hadn't even bothered to fight it because it had felt so right.

And Diana stood there, in the stalks of lavender that drifted over the hills into the darkness of the night sky, her wavy blonde hair aglow beneath the colorful paper lanterns of the decade-gone festival. The obstinate and particular but so very beautiful British heiress that Akko had all but tripped into love with was waiting beneath the constellation of hand-made lights with a timid smile and sparkling blue eyes. She was waiting for Akko in a pale blue kimono that made Akko's breath hitch in her throat and a wide grin spread, unconscious and without restraint, across her face.

She was waiting.

For Akko.

Akko felt her feet carrying her forward, felt the soft summer breeze lifting her hair around her shoulders, felt the stalks of lavender tickling at her sides and her bare arms. But she couldn't look away from Diana—she didn't _want_ to look away from Diana—and in a moment's time she had found herself standing before the taller girl and looking into eyes that shimmered in the same way Okaasan's that single night during the festival.

Akko said nothing, because nothing needed to be said. Instead, she reached forward, expecting an illusion more than anything else, but Diana was solid and she was real and she was _there_ and her hands slid comfortably around the silk of her waist. Diana made no move but instead waited, waited until Akko was so close that their chests pressed together and they could feel the beat of each other's hearts, the rise and fall of each relaxed breath, the warmth of skin meeting skin. And then their eyes met—ruby and topaz—and Diana bent down and pressed soft lips against Akko's in a sweet, slow kiss that the other girl reserved for only the most affectionate of occasions. Akko could feel hot puffs of breath against her cheek, the tickle of blonde curls against her forehead, and all at once the lavender around them seemed to grow and engulf their bodies in twisted vines of purple. But it wasn't unwelcome, no, it was right, and as the overwhelming scent swirled between them and impaled her senses, Akko found herself sinking into the comfort of the embrace, the love that pulsed between them, and

that

sweet

scent

of

lavender—

Akko held the world in her arms.

* * *

Akko's eyes fluttered open and she took a long, sharp breath.

The dream was gone with the fields of flowers, the pale light of the paper lanterns from the festival, the embrace and the kiss, beautiful Diana in a blue kimono with that tantalizing glimmer of affection in her blue eyes.

All that remained was darkness.

Akko blinked through it, the haze of her vision slowly clearing as she took in her surroundings. She could hear the gentle hum of a monitor somewhere nearby, see the glow of a light from somewhere in the distance. All at once, she remembered where she was and why she was there—the flickering blue light of the bat that Croix had struck her with, the desperate fight to cling to Diana while her mind and body were racked with waves of nauseating pain. Everything had gone black before she even knew if she had succeeded, if her guess had been correct and she had found the key to bringing Diana back. And she hadn't even known how long she had been out, but it had clearly been some time if they were bathed in the shroud of night.

"Akko."

The gentle voice at her side made her turn her head and she found the slightly fuzzy shape of Professor Ursula sitting next to her. She reached a hand out and gently stroked Akko's forehead—a welcome and soothing sensation that made Akko sigh.

"How are you feeling?"

Weak. Exhausted. Sore. None of it mattered. She didn't care about how _she_ felt.

"Diana?" Akko mumbled.

She could see the tilt of Professor Ursula's lips, the tiny shimmer of her red eyes beneath her frameless lenses as she glanced at the other bed. She rose, letting her hand fall to Akko's shoulder to offer a small squeeze. "I'll let her answer that for you," she said, her words slow and deliberate as she looked past Akko, before turning and slipping away through the curtain.

Akko felt her breath hitch in her throat as she watched her mentor leave. Despite the protest of her neck muscles, she turned to Diana.

Blue eyes were gazing back at her. Sweet, bright blue eyes that flickered through the darkness with a small, weak smile falling across pale lips.

"Hi," Diana whispered.

In an instant Akko was lurching out of bed despite the shrieking and stabbing pain that rattled her bones, the stutter of her heart as her body was pushed through the weakness that had taken hold. She found resistance in tubes and wires—it was that stupid I.V. Madam Wong had put in her _again_ —and all but ripped it out of her own arm, ignoring the sting of the needle and the blood that pricked the ditch of her elbow with the unceremonious removal.

And she was up, her bare feet hitting the cold floor with an ache of protest and flinging herself across the small space that separated their two cots. She fell against the side of the bed and curled into Diana, pulling the other girl's body into her arms and ignoring the squeaks and grunts of surprise. Diana felt frail and small against her and she held her tight, burying her face into blonde hair that was damp with grease but still held that sweet scent of lavender that Akko breathed deep and let a shoulder-shaking sob spill from her lips—

She hadn't even realized she'd been crying.

But Diana's cheek was damp against her own and Akko pulled away and saw that _she_ was crying, too, that her eyes were layered in tears that dripped slowly from the corners of her eyes. Diana was staring back at her with that same look she'd worn in Hokkaido, even if that hadn't been real, but Akko knew exactly what it was because her eyes were burning with the same thing.

"Diana," she heard herself gasp, breathless.

"Akko."

Diana's voice was nothing more than a faint whisper, but it was there nonetheless. Akko squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face back into the other girl's soft neck, lifting her up a little bit more and squeezing her against her chest.

"Ouch," Diana hissed, squirming half-heartedly beneath the lung-crushing hug that she was being submit to. Not that she minded.

"Oh." Akko loosened her grip and glanced at the I.V. that was still in Diana's arm, feeling a sheepish smile twitch at the corner of her lips. "Sorry."

"It's—" Talking was hard, and Diana really didn't want to do much of it, but for Akko, she would. "It's okay." Summoning as much strength as she managed to gain back since she'd woken up, she scooted herself to the side of the tiny cot and turned a little. She didn't need to ask Akko. The other girl already knew and clambered gracelessly onto the bed to collapse with the exhausted sigh of an entire body at her side.

Careful now with the equipment that was still attached to Diana (and very much ignoring the small smears of blood that she was getting everywhere from ripping her own out), Akko wrapped her arm around Diana and pulled her in. The taller girl seemed so small in her arms, so fragile against her, but she tightened her grip anyway. She didn't want to let go—she _wouldn't_ let go—until she was forcibly removed. She felt Diana sink into her body, nuzzle her cheek against her jaw, and swallow.

Silence came easy as the two simply breathed together, syncing the ups and downs of their chests with each tug on their lungs. Akko could still feel herself crying, the warm tears leaking from her own chin onto Diana's cheeks, but she didn't try to quell them. She just wanted to lay there forever, holding Diana—the real Diana, the one that belonged to her—in her arms where she couldn't go away again.

Akko was sure that Diana had drifted off to sleep, what with how still she'd become, until her soft voice tickled against the skin of her neck.

"I choose you," she said.

Akko blinked down, shifting a little so that her forehead was pressed up against Diana's, and brought her hand up to cup the girl's cheek in her palm. Her skin was warm and inviting, but so pale that she almost seemed like a ghost.

"I just—want you to know," Diana added, her voice low and a little bit shaky. Her fingers twitched through the fabric of Akko's shirt and gripped tight, the tip of her nose bending against Akko's with the proximity of their faces. "I will always choose you."

Akko felt herself smiling. "I don't know what that means," she said, letting her lips tickle against Diana's in a fleeting half-kiss and running her thumb along her hairline. "But I'll always choose you, too."

Diana squeezed her eyes shut. Akko knew the other girl was tired—she was, too—and so she didn't bother to say anything more. Nothing needed to be said. Diana was back, she was there, and she was real and alive and okay, so any words that had been lost in limbo could easily be recovered at another time. But for now they needed rest, and so Akko waited, her fingers dancing against blonde hair and soft skin in gentle, reassuring motions, until Diana's breath had fallen into the steady tempo of sleep before the irresistible call of slumber took her, too, but not without that sweet scent of lavender.

* * *

"By the Nine, Miss Kagari!"

Akko jerked awake to the sound of Madam Wong's irritated voice. Diana was already awake and she was actually sitting up with a cup of tea in her hand, which jostled slightly as Akko, who had been cradled in one arm, gracelessly moved against her.

"Eh?"

Akko blinked the sleep out of her eyes, twisting her arm across Diana's stomach as she rolled over to see what the nurse was so annoyed with her about. She found Madam Wong standing over the tousled bed that she'd woken in the night before, with equipment thrown all over the floor and even a few drops of blood from where she'd ripped the needle out.

"I swear I cannot wait for you to be out of here," the nurse grumbled, plucking up the tangle of tubes and hastily tying them up to the I.V. pole. "You are quite literally a human wrecking ball."

Diana snorted into her tea, the fingers of one hand twitching with amusement against Akko's back.

"And how are you feeling, Miss Cavendish?" Madam Wong asked, stepping over and placing the back of her hand to Diana's forehead. "You're looking much better than yesterday. Your Aunt should be here soon, the Headmistress provided everyone quarters for the evening."

"I'm feeling weak, but better," Diana replied, lowering her tea to glance at the monitor that was next to her bed.

"Ah, you're only at forty percent mana," Madam Wong said, pointing to a set of bars that just looked like squiggly lines to Akko. "You'll need a bit more rest before I can let you go, but maybe by the end of the evening. I did request that the Headmistress excuse you from the remainder of your classes this week—you need some downtime. You, too, Miss Kagari. And how are _you_ feeling this morning? Well enough to trash my clinic, I see?"

"Fine," Akko mumbled, lowering herself back down and burying her face into Diana's warm side. "Hnnk eff."

Madam Wong glanced up from where she was fussing with Diana's I.V., raising an eyebrow at Akko. "Excuse me?"

"She said thank you," Diana murmured. She spoke fluent full-mouth, face-buried, mumble-grumble Akko. Under any other circumstance, she would have scolded Akko to remove herself from being glued to her side and present herself properly in front of an adult. But, this wasn't a normal circumstance, and to be quite honest, Diana didn't want Akko to go anywhere. She ran her fingers through the girl's brunette hair and raised her teacup to her mouth, sipping slowly.

Luckily, Diana had managed to return the teacup and saucer back to the table next to her bed _before_ Hannah and Barbara came bustling in. The two threw aside the curtain and bound past a very bewildered and increasingly grumpy Madam Wong to throw themselves onto the blonde witch, completely ignoring a tucked up Akko, who had just fallen back asleep only moments before.

"Diana!" Hannah shrilled, grinning ear-to-ear as she buried her face into Diana's chest.

"Thank the Nine you're back," Barbara added, roughly shoving Akko away and taking up the same position on the other side.

"Alright, I get it, I get it," Akko groaned, pushing herself away and sliding out of the bed to wander forlornly back to her own. "But give her back when you're done, would you?"

Diana couldn't stop the small smile that was edging at the corners of her lips. "Hello, girls," she said, trying to hide the skeptic look that ghosted her face—after all, they _were_ just treating her like she belonged in the bin just the day before—and returning the affection. She had to remind herself that this _wasn't_ the Other World, this was the one she belonged in, and these were truly her best friends.

"Diana, you're awake!" Lotte said as she bustled through the curtain. Madam Wong grumbled and stalked over, grabbing the entire piece of fabric and ripping it to the side so the rest of the girls—who had clearly been waiting for quite some time and couldn't hang on any longer—barged in. "Oh, you too, Akko," she added, grinning at her friend.

"Yeah, yeah," Sucy mumbled, immediately wandering back over to the nurse's medical cart to examine the off-limits potions that she was still trying to get her hands on. "Good to see you both." Though Akko had the distinct feeling she wasn't talking to her _or_ Diana and was instead referring to the two potions that she was clutching in either hand.

"'Bout time." Amanda had strutted over to where Akko was sitting and clapped a hand roughly—a little _too_ roughly—on Akko's shoulder. Akko winced away and earned a mumbled apology from the American, who then added, "I heard this was all your doing. Good job, Akko."

"Seems she's good for something," Sucy deadpanned and Akko _swore_ she saw a vial of minotaur urine disappearing into the pocket of her robes. She said nothing, though, and just offered a weary smile.

Constanze was there, too, carefully inspecting the technology of Croix's altered machine now that it was no longer in use. She was skillfully detaching wires and other electrical equipment, studying the sizes of the capacitors and resistors with a thoughtful nod of approval. Jasminka watched, munching contentedly on a raspberry tart that she'd brought along from the cafeteria. Akko felt her mouth watering.

"She did perfect," Croix said, hearing Amanda and Sucy's comments as she was walking in. She stood behind Akko and smirked, throwing a, "Hey, stop touching that, I can just show you the blueprints!" at Constanze before, "Anyway, she made me quite proud."

Professor Ursula was there too, and Headmistress Holbrooke, and Aunt Daryl, and Maril and Merrill, and Paul and Andrew Hanbridge. There were so many people that finally Madam Wong tossed her hands in the air, yelled something about giving up entirely and going to milk the minotaurs, and then left at a very fast paced walk.

There was a lot going on, what with the Cavendish family actually treating Diana like they cared about her, every single friend talking hurriedly and bathing the two in so much attention that Akko was starting to feel drained entirely, the Hanbridges querying Professor Ursula and Croix about why there was so much _non_ -magical equipment in a _magical_ hospital ("No one can deny the leaps and bounds of medical science. In some cases, not even magic can hold up!" Professor Ursula had said, whereas Croix had just rolled her eyes and grumbled her distaste for the men). And, even though the overwhelming amount of social interaction was clearly taking a toll on both Akko and Diana, they couldn't deny how truly grateful they were for all the people who cared for them.

As Lotte and Amanda were talking her ear off about something hilarious they'd missed in class ("And then Avery told Wangari that she was a mop-headed wannabe of a reporter and Wangari cursed her broomstick to start beating her over the head!"" Lotte was saying, and Amanda was chuckling and adding, "It was hilarious, Akko."), Akko felt her eyes wandering to Diana. She was surprised to find clear blue eyes looking back at her, and they let the moment pass between them with a fleeting, tired smile before turning their attention away from each other once more.

They had a lot to talk about. And they would, in time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The heat of the shower and the thick steam curling around her made her feel weaker than she was, but Diana couldn't deny that the hot water against her skin felt more refreshing than anything else. She closed her eyes and stood beneath the steady stream long after she had finished washing herself, letting the warmth flush her skin and prune her fingers. Akko had joined her but gotten out as soon as earthly possible (she was _not_ one for long showers) while grumbling, "Too hot in here, don't know how you do it."

She had felt absolutely disgusting when Madam Wang had finally released her from the clinic to let her go back to her room. Even Aunt Daryl, before leaving to get back to the Cavendish Manor, had said, "Diana, I mean this in the nicest way possible because I am very glad that you are not dead and I know you've been here for days, but you are foul."

And so she'd washed her hair twice, her body thrice, and brushed her teeth until she thought her gums were going to bleed. It was late, far past curfew, and Hannah and Barbara had long since excused themselves to sleep. After all, they had class in the morning, and as much as Diana had wanted to get back to her regular routine, she understood why she needed to get rest. She could feel it in her body—or rather, she couldn't feel it. The regeneration of her magic was making her skin itch uncomfortably and her blood pulse a little slower than normal.

"I need you to come see me the moment you're feeling better," Headmistress Holbrooke had told her before she left, and she knew exactly what it was regarding. She had tried to steal a magical artifact, one that had nearly gotten both her and Akko killed in the process. Though the Headmistress's voice was level and her eyes were kind, Diana knew that the older woman was disappointed in her. Nine, she was disappointed in _herself._

All because she was selfish. All because she wouldn't trust in Akko and modern medicine and let her arrogance and misguided intellect get the best of her.

With a heavy sigh, she finally turned off the water and slid into a clean towel. She reached for her wand out of habit to dissipate the steam and clear the mirror, but then she remembered that Madam Wong had told her not to use magic for another two days and, frowning, she withdrew her hand and instead swiped a palm across the mirror. Through the smeared fog she could see how pale she still looked, even with the pink of her heat-flushed cheeks. Her eyes were sunken, black, and her platinum hair hung in damp waves around her gaunt face. She dried her hair to the best of her abilities with the towel (again, no magic, what an inconvenience) before wrapping it around her body and stepping from the bathroom, slivers of mist seeping after her.

Akko was laying on her bed on her back, one leg crossed over the other as her toes jigged anxiously. Her hair was still wet against the pillow—she had been instructed not to use magic, too—and she turned her head when she heard the bathroom door finally open.

"Feeling okay?" she asked, pushing herself into a sitting position as she ran her eyes over the blonde witch. Akko could feel how disheveled her hair was and knew how many directions it was going to go in the morning, but she didn't care. Right now, it wasn't important.

"Okay," Diana confirmed, nodding. She shimmied out of the towel and tossed it onto the back of her desk chair before slipping into a t-shirt and shorts. Goosebumps prickled against her skin with the change in temperature and she hurried to pull the covers down and crawl into the cloud that was her own bed. Akko followed suit.

It was a weekday night, and Akko wouldn't usually be there, but since they'd both been excused from classes... well, really, she just wanted to be with Akko. She started to reach out, but the other girl shrugged her off.

"The light," Akko grumbled, clambering back to her knees to turn it off—but instead Diana just waved her hand and the light at her desk extinguished, leaving them in a shroud of darkness.

"You're not supposed to use magic," Akko scolded, folding her eyebrows at the other girl. She could still see Diana in the moonlight that cast an ethereal glow through the room, the neutral expression of a person deep in thought.

Diana hummed, wrapping her arms around Akko and tugging her back down. "That was small and inconsequential," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and letting the warmth of the body against her flow over her body. "Hardly magic at all."

"Yeah, yeah. Says you, but I would've probably broken the lamp and the desk to boot," Akko grumbled, planting a chaste kiss on Diana's forehead and settling down against her. It was usually Diana that held her (maybe it was the height difference? She didn't know) but, for some reason, she felt like maybe it was her turn to take on that role. She pulled Diana into her neck, feeling the warm breath coasting against her skin as she ran her fingers through wet blonde hair. "Hey, Diana?"

"Hmm?" Diana was exhausted but sleep felt so far away. She kissed Akko's neck and ran her hand along the small of the other girl's back, enjoying the feeling of fingers in her hair, even if it was a little tangled and hurt a little bit.

"Do you..." Akko hesitated, tilting her chin back and taking a gulp of fresh air. "Do you remember everything that happened? You know... in there? While you were gone."

"Yes." Diana pushed away a little bit but kept her hand on Akko's side, blinking up at the ruby eyes that gazed into her own. "I remember everything."

Akko tensed her jaw, letting her vision haze as she mulled everything over in her head. She had only been there a few times, certainly not long enough to know everything that happened, but she had seen enough to get an idea of what Diana's mentality had been subjected to. "And are you... okay?" she finally asked.

Diana squeezed her eyes shut, letting her fingers dance across Akko's skin. "I suppose I have no choice but to be," she replied. Her eyes flickered back open and she studied Akko's face, the insecurity of her expression. "Would you like to know... what happened?"

Akko nodded against the pillow.

"Alright." Diana let her eyes fall to Akko's lips in thought, wondering where she should even begin. She knew the other girl would have this question—after all, she had been there, she had seen her family, the life she lived. Of course Akko would want to _know_. But the problem was she didn't just come back with what she remembered since touching the lantern. No, she had an entire lifetime in the Other World that was tugging at the back of her mind, persistent and haunting. What if that was where she was really supposed to be? What if the life and the world she had chosen was a mirage?

Though, Diana had made her choice for a reason. And a lot of that reason had to do with the girl in her arms.

So she started where she thought it needed to start—right before Akko started appearing. When she finally got to the point where she had woken up to Aunt Daryl leaning over her and crying, she let her voice trail into silence.

Akko was still for a long time, and if it wasn't for the crimson eyes staring back at her and the expression that morphed with the changes of the story, Diana would have thought she was asleep. The Japanese witch said nothing, though Diana could see the tears that were glistening against the glass of her eyes.

"Do you hate me?" Diana asked, her breath hitching in her throat.

"Hate you?" Akko forced a chuckle, bringing her fingers to Diana's scalp to scrape her fingernails against the skin in the way she knew the other girl liked. "That's silly, how could I possibly hate you?"

Diana shrugged. Her voice felt small and far away when she said, "I don't know."

"Do you..." Akko hesitated, eyebrows knitting together as she took a deep breath and stared into uncertain blue. "Do you think you made the right choice?"

"Yes," Diana said quickly, though her eyes flickered down once more. Her jaw rolled as she grinded her teeth in thought. "It just... it feels like I lost my family twice." Her mind fell on the horrified look on Bernadette's face when she threw the pills from the window, the pleading eyes that had seared into her own. Diana would be lying if there hadn't been any fleeting regrets, though her decision had been made in that final moment.

She had chosen Akko.

"This is where you belong," Akko said, pulling Diana in a little tighter, mostly to hide her own wet eyes. "I know it might not feel right, but if it hadn't been for that stupid lantern you would have known that and never would have had to make that decision."

"I... was doing it for you, Akko," Diana replied. Her lips pursed. "I just wanted you to be better. I wanted your pain to go away. You were suffering and what do you expect me to do, just hang around and watch?" She drew a sharp breath. "That's against my very nature, Akko. You should know that quite well."

Akko frowned. She wasn't _trying_ to get upset. She knew this was going to be a hard conversation, but she had surely thought she'd be able to keep her emotions in check. "So you went and did something dangerous," Akko said. She could feel Diana's fingers growing still on her side, but kept stroking her hair regardless. "Sometimes things can't be fixed with magic, Diana. You should know that."

Diana huffed and pulled her hand away.

"Really? Come on," Akko mumbled, rising up onto an elbow to stare down at the pale blonde witch. "I'm the one that's supposed to act childish. Look, you almost killed the both of us. You could very well be dead right now if I hadn't—If I hadnt-"

"I _know_ , Akko!" Diana snapped, jerking away and shoving herself up. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and let her torso collapse forward, burying her face in her hands. "Do you not realize how very aware I am of how terribly daft my actions were? I already know all the things I did wrong. And I know it's no excuse to say that I did it for you, because that doesn't matter. If I had never gone through with it at all, we wouldn't be where we are now. We would be happy, and healthy, and you wouldn't have had to risk yourself to bring me back." She hesitated, swiping desperately at the corner of her eyes as she felt the tears pricking before she could suck them back. "You should have just... left me there."

Akko shoved herself up. "What do you mean, I should have left you there?" She let the covers pool around her waist as she reached out and moved her hand to fall gently against Diana's shoulder. "Do you really think I would just give up that easily?"

Diana roughly shrugged the hand off and rose, striding over to the windowsill to lean against the glass and stare out at the waning moon above. She just needed to move, needed to think. "I don't know," she whispered, so quiet that Akko could barely hear her at all.

"Well, I know," Akko countered. She clambered out of the bed, taking a moment to untangle her ankle from the mess they'd made of the sheets, before planting her bare feet on the cold ground and pushing herself up. "I'd go to the end of the world for you." She tried to keep her voice low—after all, Hannah and Barbara were still sleeping, or at least, she hoped they were. She moved to stand behind Diana, watching as the other girl made an effort to hide her face.

Diana said nothing. Her shoulders hunched over and she grew still, though Akko could tell she was crying. She might have been good at concealing her emotions from other people, but she wore her heart on her sleeve for Akko.

"I'm not mad at you, baby," Akko said quietly. She stepped forward carefully, almost sure that Diana would dash away again. She had a habit of running away from things. "I was just scared. I—I didn't want to lose you."

Diana's drying hair was curling in a wild way that Akko had only seen in the Other World. The moonlight glistened across platinum strands, painting a shadowed canvas across her pallid face. She looked like a beautiful ghost, like she was balanced on the edge of two worlds. And maybe she still was. Maybe she still hadn't settled completely, still wasn't sure about where she needed to be.

Akko just needed to remind her. That's all.

"I'm sorry," Diana whispered. She ducked her chin to her chest, wet strands of blonde shrouding her face as she stared down at the fingers that dragged along the wooden windowsill. "I'm sorry, Akko."

"Hey, it's okay," Akko said. She stepped forward once more, letting her hands fall to Diana's waist. When the other girl made no move to push away, she wrapped her arms around the girl's midsection and pulled her close, feeling the wet hair tickle against her nose. "I just want you to be okay, that's all."

Diana let herself sink back into the warmth. She felt like she should be punished—like she didn't deserve for Akko to love her so much, like she didn't deserve to have the life that she did. Her body sighed into Akko's, and she said nothing, simply staring across the limited expanse of the dimly lit grounds of Luna Nova she could see from her window.

"I want you to be okay, too," Diana said after a long silence.

"I will be." Akko draped her chin over Diana's shoulder, feeling cold hands come to rest on her own. "I have you, and my friends. You can't really go wrong with that combination." She cracked a smile, feeling Diana turn her head to look back at her.

"Akko." Diana's voice was low, a little shaky.

Akko could see the tears glistening on the other girls cheek and moved one hand up to swipe them away with the pad of her thumb. Diana leaned into the touch.

"Yeah?" Akko replied. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling Diana's cheek warm against her forehead. She felt bad for getting upset—she had just been so scared for so long that she was going to lose Diana, and now that she was back... well, it was a relief that she had Diana to even be annoyed with at all.

"I love you," Diana said. She turned in Akko's arms to face the other girl, blue eyes studying the concerned frown that looked back at her. "I'm sorry. For everything. I'm sorry for trying to do something you didn't want me to do. I'm sorry for scaring you and everyone else and making you go through everything that you did to help me. And... I want to say thank you. For saving me. I—I highly doubt that I would have been as strong as you were."

"I doubt that." Akko let the corner of her lip tug into a smile. "You're the strongest person I know."

"You say that often," Diana replied. A soft chuckle tickled at the back of her throat as she pressed her forehead against Akko's. "But I'm not as strong as you. I said it before, and I'll say it again. I choose you, Akko. I'll always choose you."

"I know." Akko pressed her lips briefly against Diana's, tasting the salt of her tears. "I love you, too. And I love all that we are."

Diana leaned forward and captured Akko's mouth once more, a long sigh slipping through her nostrils as she sank into the kiss. She had made the right choice—and she knew she did—but that didn't stop the sadness that ebbed at the back of her mind when she replayed the memory in her head. But she had chosen the life she had now for a reason, and that reason was in her arms and kissing her back with the softest lips Diana could have ever imagined.

"Diana," Akko said when the two finally broke apart.

"Yes, Akko?" Diana breathed. She was tired, her eyelids weighing heavily as she gazed back into the wide crimson irises of the shorter girl. In that moment, she forgot everything. She forgot about the choice she made, about the harm she'd caused, about the shadows that slid like snakes through the darkness and the ghosts that rattled their chains in the backs of their minds. Nothing existed. Nothing but her, Akko, and the tug of their magic as it swirled together in weak waves.

"Come to bed," Akko whispered.

And so she did.

* * *

"Ah, Miss Cavendish."

The welcoming voice of the Headmistress greeted Diana as she pushed open the wooden door to the familiar office. She could feel the master key weighing heavy in her pocket and dipped her hand inside, running her fingers over the cold metal as she stepped forward to where Headmistress Holbrooke stood behind her desk.

The room looked no different. Strange magical artifacts glared down at her from the walls, from the shelves, from different corners of the room. The ouija board was still there, though Diana could swear the small planchette had moved from the last time she had seen it. Though, that may have been the result of the goblins dusting. Logic usually prevailed over the paranormal.

The one difference was the lantern. It was no longer there—the side table beneath the warm glow of the green lamp sat empty.

"Headmistress," Diana greeted. She came to a stop before the large oak desk, rocking back onto her heels and straightening her posture. Her magic had returned in full force and she felt just as healthy as she always had, though much of that had to do with Akko's thoughtful nurturing and the fact that the girl had stayed beside her for the remainder of her healing. "I... understand that you would like to speak with me."

Headmistress Holbrooke nodded, planting her hands onto a few papers that were spread across her desk and offering a terse smile. "Yes. I believe you know why, as well."

Diana ducked her chin, letting her eyes settle on the pieces of paper spread before the older woman. On one, she could see her school record—pristine, with perfect marks listed beside each subject and her lengthy list of extracurriculars along the side. "I do, Headmistress," she replied. She wouldn't try to even argue what she had done. There was no use, and she knew she deserved to be expelled for her actions.

"While I am disappointed in the way you went about doing things, Miss Cavendish, I hold nothing against you," the Headmistress said after a momentary pause. She glanced at the empty table, at the lantern that no longer existed. "I can understand the desperation of doing something for a person you love. I was young, once. I know how it goes." She offered a reassuring smile, rapping her fingers against Diana's perfect record. "Besides, you may in fact have done the magical world a favor. The Lumière, to say the least, harbored some malevolent entities. The Ministry has confiscated the artifact in order to safely destroy it."

Diana hummed, folding her hands over one another behind her back and twirling her fingers together. "While I find that news reassuring, Headmistress, I do not feel as though I should be excused for my actions," she replied. After all, had it been Akko—or, even better, Amanda—an expulsion would have been waiting. "I fully expect there to be corrective action taken for my poor decisions."

Headmistress Holbrooke nodded, squinting her eyes at the mature blonde witch in front of her. Though, she hadn't planned on offering up any kind of punishment. It had already been the subject of a very intense debate with the rest of the staff ever since Diana had woken up. But the Headmistress knew Diana quite well, and also knew that she would likely refuse any kind of leniency. Therefore, she had come to a decision-

"I fully expect you to tutor Miss Kagari for the remainder of the semester," Headmistress Holbrooke stated, leveling green eyes on Diana. "She spent a great deal of time and effort to correct your mistakes, and as such I will not have her fail any exams due to the classes she missed."

Diana raised white-blonde eyebrows, lowering her hands back her sides and drumming her fingers along her thighs. Tutor Akko? Well, she kind of already did that. Although, ensuring Akko got good marks was something entirely different—the hard-headed Japanese witch was about as reliable as a three-legged horse when it came to academics. She nodded slowly.

"And I trust that there will be no more breaking and entering." Headmistress Holbrooke raised an eyebrow, straightening her back and watching as the student reached into her pocket and fiddle with an item. "And don't even try to give that key back, Miss Cavendish. I believe you will be needing it, as you are to resume your normal first year tutoring sessions immediately," the Headmistress added. "And an additional after curfew patrol will be added from the hours of 21:00 to 23:00 on Saturday evenings until the summer holiday commences."

Now _there_ was a punishment. Saturday evening was fully devoted to Akko—a patrol for two hours in the middle of one of her favorite nights was most definitely something to frown at. Though, Diana couldn't argue that it was unfair. With a heavy sigh, she nodded once more. "Understood."

The Headmistress lowered herself back into her high-backed wooden chair and slid her frameless glasses back over her eyes, a signal that the discussion had come to an end. Diana turned on her heel to leave.

"Oh, and Miss Cavendish?"

Diana glanced over her shoulder, still running her finger over the key in her pocket, to find the Headmistress eyeing her from above the lenses, a small smile etched across her lips.

"I am quite glad to have you back with us."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Blood was everywhere. It was on her skin, it was in her hair, it stung the roof of her mouth—

Akko shot up, her chest lurching for air as her hands flew out and grabbed the nearest anchor, which happened to be Diana.

Diana grunted, eyes blinking open as she glanced up to find Akko wheezing for air beside her. The other girl was sweating, a pained grimace spread across her face.

She hadn't been asleep long. It had only been an hour since she'd gotten back from her Saturday evening patrol, and Akko had already been passed out for who knew how long by the time she returned to her room. The girl had been spread-eagle across her bed, and she'd had a difficult time maneuvering limbs without waking the other girl just to get into her own bed.

Akko had only had one nightmare recently, and it hadn't been difficult to bring her back down into calmness. The other girl had disclosed the method that she'd been using when it was just her, and so Diana had tried it out with good results. Though Diana still regretted the outcome of her actions entirely, she had to admit that the one good thing that came out of the incident was Akko learning how to tame her own demons.

"It's alright, love," Diana murmured, sitting up and immediately closing her arms around the other girl's torso to pull her into a tight hug. She could feel the warm tears wet against her chest, the hot gasping breaths as Akko tried to calm her own heart rate. The other girl said nothing, but her fingers found the fabric of Diana's shirt and squeezed.

"Remember that time I crushed you in a snowball fight? You told me I was cheating because I used magic, which is absolutely absurd because I would never use something as primitive as my own hands when I have something better at my disposal." She took a deep breath, pressing her cheek against Akko's soft brunette hair and speaking into her ear. "And you spent the entire afternoon building that ridiculous igloo and insisted that I get inside. And I did, because I love you, but Nine knows that thing was completely barbaric." She ran her fingers down Akko's arm in a rhythmic stroke, listening to the desperate gasps for air slowing to a more manageable breathing pattern. The girl's muscles were slowly releasing their tension. "Your igloo collapsed on top of us—I told you it was going to—and you just laughed. I was so irritated with you." She chuckled, feeling the body starting to relax into her own. "Okay, I wasn't that irritated with you. Though under no circumstances would I have _ever_ partaken in those activities with anyone but you."

"It was a work of art," Akko gasped back.

Diana was tired. She just wanted to go back to sleep—she'd woken up early that morning to get a little extra studying done before they'd gone to Blytonbury together—but Akko needed her, and that was okay. "I'm not sure I would coin it as a work of art," she replied. "In that case, the standards within the art community would have to drastically be lowered."

Akko's nostrils flared as she sucked in air. The tears were no longer falling now, and she wasn't having to work so hard to keep her quaking spine steady. "That's so rude," she mumbled.

Diana hummed, smiling into messy hair. "Well, that's the Cavendish motto. Rude."

"Shut up. Tell me more."

"Alright. Well, it was freezing outside and even colder in your igloo because you didn't bother to clear the snow off the ground—"

"That was for ambience."

"Right. Well, it was quite cold in there, and very small and uncomfortable, but it's one of my favorite memories. You were so cute and focused building that ridiculous thing. It made me feel a bit like a child again." Akko was settling into her. Her chest rose, slow and rhythmic, with each steadying breath. "I must admit, it was refreshing."

Akko nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "I like that one, too," she said quietly, the grip of her fingers on Diana's t-shirt loosening. "It was nice. Even if you cheated with magic and insulted my igloo."

Diana grinned. She kissed the side of Akko's head and let out a long breath. "Do you need another? I can tell you about the time that Professor Ursula caught me staring at you through her entire class and asked me afterwards when I was just going to ask you out already."

"That did not happen," Akko grumbled, but a weak laugh slipped from the back of her throat anyway.

"It did," Diana asserted, straightening up a little bit as she pulled away to look at Akko's face. She wasn't so flushed anymore, and her eyes didn't have that cloudy haze that came with anxiety attacks. "I had always thought Professor Ursula was a bit daft, but she's more perceptive than I thought. The entire conversation was humiliating."

"When was this? I don't believe you."

Diana chuckled. "And when have I ever lied to you?" she replied. "It was at the beginning of the school year. And you can ask Professor Ursula if you don't believe me."

"Fine, I will." Akko pressed a kiss to Diana's lips and tugged her back down into the bed, a sleepy smile tilting the corner of her mouth. After a short pause, she added, "Thank you, Diana.'

"Of course." Diana brought a hand to the side of Akko's face, running the pad of her thumb along a dark eyebrow and down her temple. "Are you alright now?"

"Mhm." Akko's eyes were already drifting shut. Diana watched the steady breaths, the slackening of the other girl's jaw as she slipped effortlessly back into sleep. She hadn't even asked for her dream suppressant.

They were making progress, even if it took baby steps.

All they needed to do to scare the ghosts away was keep making memories together, and that was something that Diana knew she never wanted to stop doing.

* * *

"Nine, Akko," Diana panted, squeezing her eyes shut as she let her spent body sink back into the mess they'd made of her bed. Her skin still tingled from the intensity of her orgasm and she hitched her breath as Akko slid carefully out of her, her nostrils still flaring with the effort of catching her breath as she tilted her head back and groaned.

Akko grinned with pride as she swiped the back of her hand across her mouth and kissed her way back up Diana's body, pausing to nuzzle against her jaw before letting herself fall down half on top of the other girl with a heavy sigh of content. "Happy birthday!" she wheezed, planting a light kiss to Diana's cheek. "How was that?"

Diana chuckled, lifting one shaky arm to wrap around Akko's ribcage, pulling the other girl's sweaty body a little bit closer. They hadn't had any alone time quite like this since before the lantern incident, both so busy with rebuilding their own strength and catching up on their studies, and so a majority of the night Akko had planned for them had been spent catching up on their own desires. Her roommates had, very wisely, chosen to leave for the evening—Hannah was spending the night at Amanda's, and Barbara with Lotte and Sucy. She suspected Akko's charisma had a lot to do with talking them into that, but she had chosen not to ask and to simply enjoy.

"Need you ask?" she replied, smiling into Akko's flushed forehead. "And it's not my birthday yet."

"Yeah, yeah, but we're celebrating this weekend, so it's your birthday." Akko hummed, smirking as her fingers danced over Diana's skin, feeling the other girl squirm away from the touch as she trailed lower. "Again?" she asked.

"Absolutely not. I would prefer to be able to walk in the morning." Diana huffed, squeezing her legs shut and sitting up to find the corner of the sheets and pull them over their bodies before sinking back into Akko's arms and pressing a finger to the tip of the other girl's nose. "You are insatiable."

"I can't help you're so hot," Akko mumbled, cringing away from the nose boop.

Diana rolled her eyes and flipped onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as Akko's fingers tickled her sternum. "Are you sure you're taking your potions?" she asked after a moment, turning back to the Japanese witch to study her reaction. "I mean… twice, and I really didn't have to do much," she added.

"Yes, I am taking my potions, Okaasan." Akko laughed and lifted her hand, thumbing in the direction of Diana's desk and the handful of vials that she had thrown there. "I, uh." She felt a burn edging into her cheeks. "I had Madam Wong switch me up a little bit so I could… you know."

Bright blue eyes widened and Diana lurched up on an elbow. "You talked to the nurse about our sex life?" she asked, probably a little too loudly—it was a good thing she didn't have one of the regular rooms with the thin walls.

"Yeah, I told her I was having trouble coming and you needed your fingers to take notes in class," Akko said, narrowing her eyes. "What's wrong with that?"

"By the Nine, Akko!" Diana flushed and cringed hard, teeth gritting together as she tucked her chin. "I can't believe—"

A wide grin spread across Akko's face and she reached up, pushing a strand of sweaty blonde hair out of Diana's eyes. "That was a joke. You're so gullible. I just said the other one wasn't working out that well and I wanted to explore other options."

Diana groaned, giving the giggling girl's shoulder a shove and letting herself fall back against the pillow. She could feel the tips of her ears still flaming. "Whatever, Akko," she grumbled. She grew silent, letting Akko's fingers resume their unconscious stroking of her chest while she watched the moon slide from behind a cloud cover. "Thank you," she finally said, turning her attention back to the crimson eyes that were staring back at her and pressing a kiss to Akko's soft lips. "It was a wonderful pseudo-birthday."

"It's not over yet," Akko replied, grinning. "This was just your Friday night birthday sex. Tomorrow is your _real_ birthday!"

"Still not my real birthday." Diana chuckled. "That's Monday."

"Oh, you know what I _mean_!" Akko snaked her arm around Diana's waist and pulled her in. "Weekday birthdays don't count, they default to the weekend before. Everyone knows that."

"Is that so?" Diana felt herself smiling. She nuzzled into Akko's cheek and closed her eyes. "I suppose I wasn't aware of that."

Akko hummed. "Yep. Today was your birthday, and so is tomorrow, and the next day. And Monday. After that, it's my birthday."

"Your birthday isn't for another few months."

"My birthday starts the day after yours. That's how that works. What rock have you been under?"

Diana could feel the smile tugging at Akko's lips. "Alright, then. So, if we're alternating, then by that logic my birthday will begin again the day after yours, which means that I get 10 months of birthday and you only get 2."

The smile faded.

"Nevermind," Akko said quickly. "Forget I said that. You know what, I think it's bedtime." She rose quickly, reaching across Diana to snag her nightly potion. Once she'd taken her dose and thrown the vial back with the others, she scanned the room for her clothes. "All the way over there?" she grumbled, squirming away from Diana to go fetch her t-shirt and shorts. "And you complain about _me_ throwing your stuff."

A hand on her wrist stopped her, pulled her back down. Dark eyebrows stitched together as Akko looked at Diana, who was smirking up at her. Blonde hair draped across the pillow, across her pale chest, over the shadows of her collarbones. Akko had seen Diana in that way dozens of times before, but the girl's beauty never ceased to make her breath hitch.

"I think we can forget about that for tonight," Diana said. "After all, Hannah and Barbara aren't here."

Akko's red eyes widened, a broad grin spreading across her face. "Aw, yeah!" she said, throwing herself back down and snuggling into Diana's warm body. Remembering the light, she raised her hand and twitched her fingers—

" _Damnit, Akko!_ Not again!"

The lamp crashed loudly against the bookshelf and fell in a heap of broken glass, a few books sliding from their rests to hit the floor along with it. Akko could feel Diana's blue eyes shooting daggers at her through the darkness.

"Uh, oops. Well, the light's out. Goodnight!"

* * *

Diana couldn't imagine when Akko had found the time to plan birthday festivities. What with studying, practicing her spells, working on her flying with Amanda, and spending time with her friends during the week, Akko had hardly even had time to see Diana outside of their tutoring sessions. And the girl had been with her during the weekends—so how did she even manage?

"Everyone helped out," Akko clarified as she pulled the blonde witch's hand into the botanical garden, which had been extravagantly decorated (that was a joke, it was incredibly tacky) for Diana's birthday. "I just talked Headmistress Holbrooke into letting me use the garden for the night. She seemed okay with it after I offered her one of Sucy's Special Smoothies."

"By the Nine." Diana lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't want to hear any more."

"Hey, birthday girl!"

Diana's body jolted roughly as Amanda smacked her hard on the back of her shoulder. She grunted, throwing a glare at the American witch. "Unnecessary," she snapped, though relaxed quickly at the squeeze of Akko's fingers.

All of their friends were there—Hannah, Barbara, Sucy, Lotte, Constanze, Jasminka, Amanda. Chariot was there, too, and Diana was surprised to see Croix on her arm. She would've thought the other woman would have headed back to the Ministry, but—

"I flew in for the weekend," Croix clarified, side-eyeing Chariot as she cleared her throat and stepped away. "I thought it would be nice to visit a friend."

One white-blonde eyebrow quirked up at the statement. "Uh-huh." Were they _really_ still insisting they were only friends? She shot a glance at Akko, who only offered a shrug and mouthed a, "Don't know."

Colorful streamers had been draped against the walls, one massive banner that read _HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAVENDISH_ (Amanda must have made it, Diana assumed) was pressed against the Jennifer memorial tree. Diana felt the urge to say something about the other witches defiling their ancestor with such tacky props, but held back. After all, they had put quite some effort into preparing everything for her. Jasminka had baked a colorful cake which was slightly lopsided but still very nice, and Constanze had installed electric torches that hovered overhead and burst with blue flames every few seconds. A fire hazard, to be sure, but she kept her mouth shut. There was a spread of food—no potatoes, thank the Nine—and a few different kinds of punch, even a tray of tarts that she was sure had been lifted from the cafeteria earlier in the night. There was laughter and music (though nothing Diana was familiar with), the easy chatter of excited friends, Akko's hand warm in her own.

"This is nice," Diana said at last, turning to grin at Akko. She was never one for parties, or really even acknowledging her own birthday, but she appreciated the time and effort that went into giving her a pleasant evening. "Thank you, Akko."

"Of course." Akko leaned forward, but, realizing what she was doing, tucked her head with a blush.

"Don't be silly."

Diana slid her finger beneath Akko's chin and pulled her forward into a kiss. She could feel the other girl's smile spreading against her lips before they backed away.

"Gross," Amanda muttered from beside them. She was pouring a healthy serving of punch into a bunch of cups. "Gather around, punks! It's time to wish this old woman a happy birthday, since she's finally decided to grace us with her presence. I wonder what took so long for you two to get down here?"

Diana felt a furious blush spark into her cheeks and looked away. At her side, Akko did the same.

They couldn't have been more obvious.

The Nine New Witches, along with Hannah and Barbara, flocked in to take the cups offered from the red-headed witch. Once they'd all received a drink, Amanda lifted her arm, a mischievous smirk spread across her lips.

"To Cavendish. Cheers."

Diana raised the drink to her lips—

 _She spiked the damn punch._

Diana coughed as the heavy taste of vodka impaled the back of her throat. Her eyes started watering as she shot a glare at the devious witch, who simply raised one haughty eyebrow and threw her own punch back.

"Problem, Cavendish?"

Diana frowned, glancing at Akko, who had hesitated with the cup to her lips after Diana's reaction.

With a heavy sigh, she tilted the cup back and emptied the rest of the contents into her mouth before grimacing and swiping her lips with the back of her hand. Akko followed suit. "No problem," she muttered, which earned a loud laugh from Amanda, who threw an arm around Hannah's shoulder and exclaimed, "See, babe? Told you she'd loosen up eventually."

"Whatever," Diana grumbled, holding her cup out. "Keep it full, then, would you?"

The evening turned out to be way more fun that Diana could have ever anticipated. Maybe it was the alcohol burning through her blood that lowered her inhibitions and made everything seem much more entertaining, or the ridiculous dancing of the whole group of friends (in particular Sucy's headbang and air guitar when she bewitched the music to play death metal), or the warmth of a laughing and cheerful Akko by her side. Either way, it was nice—very nice—and when Akko had grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the observatory, she couldn't help but wonder how she'd managed to land such a lovely family of friends.

"It's my turn," Akko said as they climbed the last few stairs of the observatory. The brilliant night sky greeted them, cloudless, a full moon glaring down in pale white light from above. The constellations above were loud and bright, twinkling pleasantly against a canvas of darkness. There was a chill to the air but it wasn't at all uncomfortable, certainly not with Akko's warm magic pulsing around her. The ground seemed to sway beneath their feet a little bit, but that was probably just the punch.

"I believe you've had many turns," Diana replied, chuckling. "Though, I won't argue."

Akko plopped down at the edge of the observatory, letting her legs kick over the side. Diana wasn't too keen on sitting so dangerous close without the security of a rail, especially after having a few cups of Amanda's punch, but she joined Akko after a moment's hesitation. She felt the other girl's arm close around her waist, pulling her in.

"Are you having fun?" Akko asked.

Diana nodded. "I am. Thank you."

"Good."

The silence spread between them, comfortable and easy, and Diana rested a hand on Akko's knee as she stared off at the dark wall of trees that was Arcturus.

"Hey, Diana?"

"Hm?"

Diana blinked to Akko, letting herself smile when she found sparkling ruby eyes gazing back at her. The moonlight hit Akko's face in all the right ways and she looked so desperately pretty that Diana couldn't help but reach up and run her hand through the other girl's hair, couldn't help but to pull her into a brief kiss.

Akko grinned as their lips fell away, warm breath still tickling her cheek as she gazed at the blonde witch. "How would you feel about joining me in Japan for a bit this summer?"

"In Japan?"

Diana had never been to Japan. Her eyebrows knit together as she studied Akko's face, thumb gently caressing her cheek.

"Yeah." Akko nodded. "I've told Okaasan and Otousan so much about you and I'd really like you to meet them. Besides, I've seen where you've grown up and I just thought—"

"Yes." Diana said quickly, tongue darting from her mouth to wet her lips. "I'd love to."

"Really?" A flame in Akko's irises flared as her lip quirked up in that signature half-smile. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"Great! There's this festival that I really want to take you to—it's in Hokkaido and—"

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the mood, maybe it was the girl in front of her that she loved so dearly, but the warmth that spread through Diana's mind made her want to kiss Akko again. And again. So she did. She pressed their lips together, feeling the surprised exhale from Akko's nostrils as their mouths collided. Diana could feel the magic bursting from inside her, reaching for Akko's in that urgency that had become so wonderfully familiar.

If there had been any regret remaining from the choice she'd made, it was gone in that moment, nothing more than a fleeting memory left behind on the grand staircase in her mind. She had followed the tug on her heart and it hadn't led her astray and instead brought her straight to Akko, to the magic they shared, to the warmth of love.

And Diana couldn't imagine being anywhere other than this side of paradise.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Hey! Thanks so much for reading. This brings this fic to a close, but I am planning a third installment to this series that I'll pursue eventually.

I hope you enjoyed!


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